Poker52 Europa n12- Nov/Dec 2011

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ÉDITO

Poker52 Europa is now the exclusive media partner of the famous European Poker Awards

Dear Readers, Each week there is a new tournament starting somewhere in the world, the problem for us players is to choose just where to travel, gamble and enjoy life. Since the new version of Poker 52 launched this autumn, we are tying to do the best to get the maximum information on all the poker festivals and hot spots, offering you the very best material around, so you can have nothing short of a fantastic time around the gambling towns.

European poker players tend to be one of the most feared in the world right now, and our HendonMob partners reflect perfectly what is going on in the international poker world: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian or Scandinavian players do some incredible performances in every poker festival and online regulation seems to help further more to enhance the level of play all over Europe.

To reflect this tendency, Poker52 Europa is now the exclusive media partner of the famous European Poker Awards, which will take place in early 2012 at the renowned Aviation Club de France in Paris. Our readers will be able to vote online on www.poker52europa.com for the nominees. Their votes will be collated and count as one single vote, equal to any vote from the 52 poker personalities of the Nomination Panel. They have until the 5th of December to vote online and one lucky reader will even have the chance to attend, for 2 people all-inclusive (flight, hotel, club subscription, dinner) to the ceremony in mid-January!

POKER 52 auropa // November-december 2011 // ISSUE 2

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ISSUE 2 // novEMBER-decemBER 2011 // POKER 52 auropa

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CONTENTS 10 20

NEWS PARTY POKER

24

INTERVIEW

34

WPT SEASON X Jason Mercier

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS 36 WPT and EPT Prague 42 High Level Tournaments in Morocco 48 Sint Maarten OPEN 51 EPT Loutraki 54 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic 60 Unibet Open Riga

65

EUROPEAN POKER AWARDS

76

HENDON MOB RANKINGS

81

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

68

42

Party time

CHRONICLES 22 Victoria Coren Honesty Box

66 Tony G.

The best tips on earth

68 Daniel Negreanu How I WCOOP

72 Sam Kelopuro

Back to homeland

74 High Roller - Bruno “KING” Fitoussi A good call 84 Fabrice Soulier Poker in Las Vegas

24

36

is published by Game Prod - 14 rue de Berri 75008 PARIS / France +33 (0)1 53 89 14 00 www.poker52europa.com Directed by : Bruno Benveniste +33 (0)1 53 89 14 08 - brunobenveniste@poker52europa.com Assisted by : Samantha Delmas - samantha@poker52europa.com Chief editor : Jérôme Schmidt - jerome@poker52europa.com Writers : Julien Morello, Antoine Salvi, Philippe Lemaire, Philippe Aronson Cover picture : Jason Mercier by Jules Pochy Inside pictures : Jules Pochy, Neil Stoddart, XDR Re-writing and translation : Alexander JE Bradley Advertisment : Marine Jouaillec +33 (0)661 489 501- marine@poker52europa.com Founder : Bruno Fitoussi

DESIGN

www.mayapress.net Artistic Director: Sébastien Martorell - s.martorell@mayapress.net Layout: Jennifer Bouvard, Cécile Chatelin, Laetitia Rossi Print: EUROprintCZ s.r.o.

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neWS //

Previous Tournaments

WPT GranD PrIX De ParIS

THE AvIATIoN cLUb dE FrANcE SOLD OUT The WPT Grand Prix de Paris at the Aviation club de France, on the champs Elysées, was a huge success.

The famous French poker room hosted the American series from 1st to 10th of September, which attracted a lot of players from all over the poker world. Everything started with the brand new €5,000 omaha cup Triple chance, dominated by regulars of the AcF, Antony Lellouche and davidi Kitaï, the runner-up. Then, the room was full up for the €7,500 main Event, which attracted no less than 312 participants. Among others we could see Jason mercier, Freddy deeb, Sorel mizzi, Joe cassidy, martin Jacobson, Juha Helppi, Jeff Lisandro, Elie Payan, Jean-Paul Pasqualini, roger Hairabedian, Antoine Saout, Patrick bruel, mike Sexton, michael

WPT GranD PrIX De ParIS FInaL TabLe reSULTS Field: 312 players Buy-in Prize pool 1. matt Waxman 2. Hugo Lemaire 3. Frédéric magen 4. byron Kaverman 5. mikko Sundell 6. martin Jacobson

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€7,500 €2,222,150 €500,000 €311,100 €211,100 €155,550 €133,330 €88,900

Tureniec and dominik Nitsche. The eliminations went as fast as possible, and a young regular of the AcF, the French Hugo Lemaire, had a really good run until heads-up against the American pro matthew Waxman. on the final hand, the Frenchman’s pair was overcome by the flush of his American opponent and matthew Waxman left Paris with €500,000. The end of this French series was highlighted by the €15,000 High roller Event. The canadian Sorel mizzi and the American Freddy deeb played the heads-up for the second year in a row, but this time mizzi got his revenge and toppled deeb. The WPT Grand Prix de Paris 2011 was better than excepted, and year after year, the series is becoming one of the highlights on the world circuit.

€5,000 POT LImIT Omaha – reSULTS Field: 65 players Buy-in Prize pool 1. Antony Lellouche 2. davidi Kitaï 3. vadim Kursevich

WPT maLTa

€5,000 €312,000 €71,760 €70,200 €67,080

GreaT SUCCeSS FOR THE NEW WPT Malta is one of the three newest European tournaments added to the World Poker Tour, along with Slovenia and Czech Republic, and for the first time this year the world circuit made a stop in the georgous Mediterranean archipelago.

From the 17th to the 24th of September, the scenic Portomaso Casino on St. Julians hosted six satellites events, all of them with a €300 + €30 buy-in, and a €3,000 + €300 buy-in Main Event which started on the 20th.

240 players entered the tournament, generating a prize pool of €698,000, with €200,000 exclusively reserved to the winner.

After four days of play, the American November Niner Matt Giannetti reached the heads-up stage, in front of the Italian player Cecilia Pescaglini, who was running

€15,000 hIGh rOLLer evenT – reSULTS Field: 36 players Buy-in Prize pool 1. Sorel mizzi 2. Freddy deeb 3. Nichlas mattsson 4. Jérôme Zerbib 5. christopher Lastiwka

€15,000 €521,100 €234,495 €130,275 €78,165 €52,110 €20,055

WOrLD POKer TOUr maLTa FInaL TabLe reSULTS

Field: 240 players for the first-ever female Buy-in €3,000 + €300 WPT champion. UnfortuPrize pool €698,400 nantly all her chances were 1. matt Giannetti €200,000 dashed on the last hand 2. cecilia Pescaglini €116,700 after she called an all-in 3. Filippo bianchini €76,820 with QT on a T82 board, 4. Simon Trumper €53,430 5. Tristan clémençon €39,810 while Giannetti, holding 6. Fabien Sartoris €30,730 97 was waiting for the J, which came on the river.

Giannetti has secured at least $782,115 for making it to the final table of the WSOP Main Event, and when he will return to the Rio in Las Vegas in November, he will do so with a WPT title to his name.

10 ISSUE NUmÉro 2 //2NovEmbEr-dEcEmbEr // NovEmbEr-dEcEmbEr 20112011 // POKER // POKER 52 auropa 52 auropa

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POKER 52 auropa // november-december 2011 // NUMÉRO 2

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neWS //

Previous Tournaments

eUrOPean POKer TOUr barCeLOna FInaL TabLe reSULTS

ePT barCeLOna

SeaSOn vIII IS LAUNcHEd! The European Poker Tour made a stop at the Gran casino barcelona from the 27th of August until the 1st of September for the long awaited Spanish leg of the European circuit. The tournament was once again a big success, with 811 entries in the €5,300 main Event, breaking the record of participation, held when 758 players gathered in 2010. This year the contestants were playing for a share of the €4,055,000 prize pool, ready to fight for this fiveday competition.

Poker Stars were there, among others Eugene Katchalov, Jason mercier, Arnaud mattern, victor ramdin, Ivan demidov, Leo Fernandez, Andre

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Akkari, Sebastian ruthenberg, Annette obrestad, Jonhattan duhamel and Sam El Sayed, who all made it to day 2. on the other side, daniel Negreanu, viktor bloom, dario minieri, chris moneymaker, John dutie and bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier hit the rails on day 1.

The sensation of the tournament was Eugene Katchalov, who was looking for his first EPT title in order to grab the desired Triple crown, but the Ukrainian player was eliminated in third position by the young German player martin Schleich, who faced thereafter dragan Kostic who had a big advantage. only two hands on

Field: 811 players Buy-in €5,000 + €300 Prize pool €4,055,00 1. martin Schleich €850,000 2. dragan Kostic €532,000 3. Eugene Katchalov €315,000 4. raul mestre €244,000 5. Tomeu Gomila €185,000 6. Saar Wilf €145,000 7. Juan manuel Perez €105,430 8. Isabel baltazar €72,990

this heads-up, Schleich overcame his Spanish opponent, for the first-ever major title of his young carrier and a first price of €857,227. This wonderful event, being actually the second stop of the EPT Season vIII right after Tallinn, marked the real begining of the new European poker year, a season full of action and surprises.

ParTOUChe POKer TOUr CanneS

POKer aCTIOn

oN THE FrENcH rIvIErA 579 players joined the tables at the Palm beach casino for the €8,500 main Event of the Partouche Poker Tour 2011 Finale, running from the 12th untilt he 17th of September in the international movie festival city. vanessa Selbst was there to defend her title, along with poker pros such as marvin rettenmaier, Joseph cassidy, Alexander Kravchenko, maxim Lykov, Freddy deeb, Tobias reinkemeir, Jason mercier, daniel cates, Sam Trickett, michael Tureniec and French poker players like Antony Lellouche, Alain roy, Ludovic Lacay, Antonin Teisseire, davidi Kitaï and roger Hairabedian.

The entire field performed five days of pure poker, with the Ukrainian player oleksii Kovalchuk overcoming all his opponents on day 2, followed by Ludovic Lacay on the day 3 before the Italian mustapha Kanit took the chip lead on day 4. The day 5 was Sam Trickett’s one: the English player started the day short stack but managed to finish it as the chip leader for the final table.

He will play against three Frenchmen – Alexandre coussy, roger Hairabedian and Ilan boujenah,

ParTOUChe POKer TOUr CanneS - FInaL TabLe ChIPCOUnTS Field: 579 players Buy-in €8,500 Prize pool 1. Sam Trickett 2,605,000 chips 2. Alexandre coussy 2,473,000 chips 3. Fouad behbehani 2,446,000 chips 4. mads Wissing 2,144,000 chips 5. mustapha Kanit 2,047,000 chips 6. roger Hairabedian 1,890,000 chips 7. oleksii Kovalchuk 1,626,000 chips 8. Ilan boujenah 1,241,000 chips 9. Alexander dovzhenko 944,000 chips

Final table Payout 1. €1,000,000 2. €600,000 3. €379,760 4. €300,000 5. €230,000 6. €190,000 7. €160,000 8. €130,000 9. €100,000

alongside danish mads Wissing, Italian mustapha Kanit, two Ukrainians, oleksii Kovalchul and Alexander dovzhenko, and American Fouad behbehani. The November Nine will join the table of the Palm beach casino on the 12th and 13th of November, playing to grab vanessa Selbst’s crown and the €1,000,000 price reserved for the winner. Poker Europa will be there to cover this exciting final table.

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Upcoming Tournaments

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WPT amnevILLe

The FrenCh BiG eVent Launched for the very first time last year, the World Poker Tour Amneville, in north-eastern France, is one of the biggest WPT stops in Western Europe. From the 26th of October until the 6th of November, the Seven Casino d’Amneville will host no less than 18 tournaments, from Supersatellites to the Main Event to NLHE side events, with buy-ins ranging between €150 and €700.

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This stop will also hold a oneday €4,600 PLO Triple Chance Challenge, and a three-day €1,100 Eastern Cup, but the major tournament of the series will be undoubtedly the four-day €3,200 + €300 Main Event, running from the 1st until the 6th of November.

Last year, 542 players entered the Main Event, generating a prize pool of €1,640,096. The Swiss player Sam El Sayed overcame the

Frenchman Franck Pepe during heads-up, cashing €426,425 for his first victory in a major international event. A big field is expected this year, with a lot of European stars coming to the Main Event in order to grab the largest part of the massive prize pool.

merIT aUTUmn CLaSSIC KyrenIa

PoKEr UnDer The SUn

After the merit Summer classic in August, the $1,000,000 guaranteed summer series and the merit Poker cyprus, in September and october, the merit Poker club’s series will head to the merit crystal cove Hotel-casino Kyrenia for its autumn series, from the 14th until the 22nd of November. A large number of events will be provided, like the $1,650 deepstack event, the $1,650 Heads-Up event, the two-day $4,400 High roller event, along with smaller

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buy-in events and exotic tournaments, like the $750 chinese Poker event.

The three-day $2,200 main Event, running from the 19th to the 21st will close this autumn series. Attracting players from Eastern and Western Europe as well as Turkey, this series is the opportunity to challenge them and the local poker stars in the idyllically located merit crystal cove Hotel & casino, and maybe bring home one of the big prizes.

mInI WSOP DUbLIn

IrISh PoKeR time

Rinning from the 3rd until the 6th of November, the Maldron Hotel, Tallaght, Dublin, will host the Mini WSOP, a series of small buy-in events where starting stacks and blinds mirror the structure used during the WSOP. Ten events will be provided, from €80 to €360 Main Event, including a €250 side event, a €200 Heads-Up event, and a €200 8 Game event.

A perfect option if you are looking for world standard structures for a reasonable prize.

POKER 52 auropa // NovEmbEr-dEcEmbEr 2011 // ISSUE 2

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NEWS //

Upcoming Tournaments

GUKPT Grand Final London

The London Classic Launched in 2007, the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour is a series of poker festivals that play throughout the UK, where each festival features several warm up events with buy-in ranging from £100 - £500 and a £1,000 fourday Main Event. During this season the tour has already stopped in Manchester, London, Walsall and Luton, before reaching Coventry in October, Blackpool in November and

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London once again for the Grand Final at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino from the 24th of November until the 4th of December.

“The Vic” is an institution in London and the casino has hosted some of the biggest poker and events in Europe, including the EPT, the Unibet Open and the Heads-Up Poker Championship.

During the GUKPT Grand Final, it will welcome numerous side events, in

NLHE and PLO, including the £2,000 + £200 World HU Championship, as well as the £2,500 + £125 ME, starting the 1st of December.

Last year the GUKPT London Grand Final attracted 207 players, with Leon Bui proving victorious for £144,905 after defeating Nicolas Irving heads-up.

The first legs of this season were great success, and a lot of players are awaiting the Victoria Casino in December.

European Poker Tour San Remo

The Northern Italian series It’s been only six months since British pro Rupert Elder captured the EPT San Remo title on the Italian Riviera, and the popular series is already back on track. The famous event is breaking with tradition, being brought forward to an autumn slot. From the 21st to the 27th of October, the Casino San Remo will attract a huge field for the eighth time.

In May 2011, season 7 was amazing: Elder bested a 988-strong field, beating Max Heinzelmann in heads-up to take the title and giant first prize of €930,000, plus a stunning bracelet worth more than €16,000 from the EPT’s Official Bracelet Sponsor, Shamballa Jewels. Players from 57 countries were competing, creating a giant prize pool of €4,786,950.

With poker’s popularity growing in European markets, Season 8 promises to be the biggest yet,

and the legendary EPT stop in San Remo will be one of its highlights.

The €4,600 + €300 Main Event will run from the 21st until the 27th of October, along with a large range of side events, like a €2,000 + €100 Turbo bounty event, two

€1,000 + €100 two-day event, a €2,000 + €200 three-day event, a two-day €1,000 + €100 PLO Rebuy event, and a two-day €2,000 + €200 Heads-Up event (64 cap). EPT San Remo is also the final of the PokerStars.it Italian Poker Tour.

14 ISSUE 2 // novEMBER-decemBER 2011 // POKER 52 auropa

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NEWS // POKER BUSINESS

Hendon Mob :

a new era has come The famous UK site led by Joe Beevers, Ram Vaswani and the Boatman brothers (Ross and Barny) have signed a new partnership with Genting Poker… The Hendon Mob speak with us about the change.

Interview by Antoine Salvi Can you tell us about the new deal you have with Genting Poker ?

We (The Hendon Mob) have signed an exclusive agreement with GentingPoker for ourselves as individual players and thehendonmob.com website.

Genting has 44 casinos in the UK and about 25 poker rooms. They are planning a UK tour, something to rival the GUKPT and we are really looking forward to it. The beauty of the deal is that we help bridge the gap between live and online play.

We all started out as live players travelling the circuit and now it feels like we have come full circuit ourselves!

Who are the people behind Genting Poker ?

Genting are massive! They are the UKs largest gaming company with 45 years experience and one of Asia’s leading multinationals, Genting are valued at close to $40,000,000,000 (that’s 40 BILLION dollars) and employ nearly 60,000 people. Even if you’re not familiar with Genting, you will be with their clubs. Circus,

Maxims and Mint Casinos are all part of Genting, as is the opulent Palm Beach casino in London, and Crockfords, the world’s oldest private gaming club.

What offers do you have with this new deal ?

We have a great VIP deal for all players, a 400% sign up bonus up to $2000, rake races (starting December) and special promotions such as The Mob Forum League with added WSOP packages and Beat the Mob Tournaments with massive bounties on us! As well as all of this we have our own unique promotion with something we call Hendon Mob Sponsorship Dollars (HMS$).

This promotion is open to all players signed up through thehendonmob. com. Basically we will be sponsoring players to play major live events on the Genting Tour as well as certain WSOP and WSOPE events and some major online events too. Players will play all of these risks free!

What does the future hold for the Hendon Mob website ?

The Hendon Mob website is the UKs

largest poker portal and the Hendon Mob database is the world’s leading live poker results database with almost 200,000 players profiled. One new thing that will be happening on the site is we will have a section for our sponsored players using HMS$ and this is very exciting.

How do you feel poker will evolve after Black Friday ?

Black Friday, and the day in June when Full Tilt Poker shut down, makes us feel sick inside for many reasons. No least because so many players, including us, have large sums of money tied up on the site.

We certainly hope there is some resolution and that players both here and in the US get their money back. With the legal situation unclear in so many countries and prohibition in the US we sincerely hope for future legislation to allow every poker player in every country the freedom to turn on his PC and log on to GentingPoker. I mean why shouldn’t everyone be free to play in the Mob Forum League?!

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world poker tour

WPT SEASON X

the WPT

strikes back

The new WPT team was in Paris at the world-famous Crazy Horse cabaret to present the new Royal Flush Girls and promote the new season of WPT Season X. A lot of new stuff and a fabulous team for the best poker show possible ! Let’s meet the wonderful guys behind the WPT…

M Mike Sexton

Mike Sexton is poker’s consummate promoter. He’s well-known for his contributions to the sport and his commitment to raising poker’s profile around the world. A former European poker champion with his own coveted World Series of Poker bracelets, Mike is one of the premier ambassadors of poker.

Upon graduation Mike joined the 82nd Airborne Division in Ft. Bragg as a paratrooper. After completing his service, Mike stayed in North Carolina working as a salesman and playing poker at night. Realizing that he could make a living playing cards, he left his day job to become a professional poker player.

In 1985, Mike made the jump to Las Vegas where his dedication to the sport prevailed. Mike won a WSOP bracelet in Seven-Card Stud Split in 1989. From there, he has amassed well over $2.7 million in prize money and become a regular fixture in tournaments.

In June 2006, Mike battled it out on the felt with Daniel Negreanu at the WSOP Tournament of Champions to win his second gold bracelet and pocket $1 million. However, he elected to donate half his winning to several charities. As a sound commentator for the WPT and successful player in the poker circuit, Mike has become and always will be a great in the poker community.

By Antoine Salvi

Vince Van Patten

Success has come in many forms for the actor, producer, director, author, and former tennis player, Vincent Van Patten.

The son of actor Dick Van Patten, Vince has thrived in all his endeavors through a winning combination of talent, ambition, and dedication.

Beyond his achievements in the entertainment industry, Vince is a remarkably talented tennis player who competed professionally through the mid-1980s. At his peak he ranked 25th in the world, scoring wins over almost every major player including John McEnroe.

Vince’s passion for poker started at the young age of 13, when his father taught him how to play poker at the LA Tennis Club.

Soon Vince was playing in side games in between tennis matches.

By the time he turned 16, Vince had accumulated enough skill to play in his Dad’s poker game. One night on a winning streak, he played until 7AM, when he finally had to throw in the cards to go to school. Vince continues to play poker every week with his buddies in a pot limit game in Beverly Hills. He has tried his hand at the World Series of Poker three times, and brings solid experience hosting televised sports and poker broadcasts to the World Poker Tour.

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Kimberly Lansing

A familiar face on the WPT, Kimberly Lansing anchors the action on Season IX of the World Poker Tour. Fans and players alike can now follow Kimberly as she unveils top stories from poker’s finest competitors live, online and on TV. Kimberly grew up in Rancho Mirage and Laguna Hills before attending the University of Southern California. During her time at USC, Kimberly worked at the college news station, Annenberg TV News. After receiving a BA in Broadcast Journalism at USC, Kimberly began her career as an entertainment journalist for the Associated Press and Us Weekly Magazine.

Starting her path toward the poker world, in 2006 Kimberly hosted the OnGame Network’s Poker Classic at the Casino de Barcelona, in Spain. In March of 2007, Kimberly attended the WPT Celebrity Invitational tournament to report for PEOPLE. Kimberly’s charming disposition and impressive background in poker prompted WPT to create a position for Kimberly where she would travel the poker circuit and report live from the tournament floor via streaming video blogs.

Tony Dunst

Tony Dunst, a high stakes pro and one of the most unique personalities in the poker industry, was named host of World

Poker Tour’s “Raw Deal” segment for Season IX. Dunst beat out hundreds of other contestants in a nationwide search to capture the coveted slot.

Dunst is his own atlas. After visiting Australia to play in the Aussie Millions tournament in 2005, he left the U.S. to move down under. He returned to the States a year later and played in his first World Series of Poker, where he established himself as a young force in the poker world, finishing 198th in the 2006 Main Event.

Dunst left China and continued to travel the world, settling for a time in Macau, before heading back to Australia. During these travels he started writing about poker for online outlets and magazines. One of the most consistent posters and moderators at the 2+2 forums, as well as hosting one of the most popular blogs in all of poker, he has written articles on dozens of topics both within and outside of poker. With his candor and oversized personality, Dunst quickly developed a loyal following of fans and more than a handful of critics, becoming a lightning rod in the poker community.

Royal Flush Girls

Appearing in every episode of the new season, the Royal Flush Girls will take TV viewers behind the scenes of the World Poker Tour and serve as.

POKER 52 auropa // novEMBER-decemBER 2011 // ISSUE 2

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vICTOrIa COren

hOneSTy bOX

CHRONICLE VICTORIA COREN

okay, so, the WcooP has started and it’s gone okay so far. It’s gone very well really, because I’ve played four events and cashed in two of them. In both of the cashing events it felt like I got really unlucky late on and failed to make really big scores, so there are mixed emotions involved.

PK52UE_N2_CS5.5_V2.indd 22

I’ve decided to be brave and keep a tally here of the WCOOP events I play and how I get on. Obviously that feels easy to do right now because I’ve cashed in 50% of the events I’ve played in and I have made a profit. It might not look so clever in a couple of weeks’ time if I’ve played eight more and dropped miles behind. But hey, that’s the whole point of being honest - taking the risk that it isn’t always going to be good news. All my positive tournament results are published in tables elsewhere but (as with all professional players’ published results) they doesn’t show the losses.

So, what the hell, let’s have an honesty series with the losses published as well as the wins. If the final figures are horrible at the end of the WCOOP, well, I’ll consider it a useful lesson for fellow players to see how hard it can be to make a living from tournaments! Cash games and cheap satellite entries FTW… I’m not quite sure how to report profits because I’ve been buying into these events with VPPs (frequent player points) rather than cash, so any return are all profit for me. And I’ll be playing the Main Event courtesy of those kind people at PokerStars. If I were buying in with real money, obviously I’d need to remove the buy-in amount from recorded profit.

For now, I’ll just put down all results as they come in, so if you’re interested to see an honest account of a player’s online series, here what it’s going to be…

1) Event 1, $215 6-handed NLH Finished 325th/7500, cashed for $585 2) Event 3, $215 NLH Cashed $0 3) Event 11, $320 Ante Up Finished 52nd/1467, cashed for $1,144 4) Event 12, $215 Heads Up Cashed $0

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Beware pros who show you only high and regular wins!

5) E vent 14, $265 6-Max Knockout Finished 965th/3568, cashed for $100 (in bounties) 6) E vent 18, $320 NLH Turbo Finished 244th/2295, cashed for $620 7) E vent 21, $215 NLH Cashed $0 [I’d like to note about this one that I went out in a huge pot where I was 92% favourite! *92%* !!! And lost. $0 is a very unfair reflection!]

8) E vent 22, $530 NLH Cashed $0 vent 22, $320 Second Chance 9) E Finished 9th/793, cashed for $3,045 vent 23, $215 4-Max 10) E Cashed $0 11) E vent 26, $320 Mixed Limit Cashed $0 12) E vent 32, $320 6 Max Cashed $0 vent 32, $215 Second Chance 13) E Finished 43rd/488, cashed for $488 14) E vent 33, $320 Omaha 6 Max 1R 1A Cashed $0 15) E vent 38, $530 Heads Up Cashed $0 [Out with a flush vs a pair of tens! He hit a bigger flush!

Not quite 92% as above, but still… nasty…]

16) E vent 40, $215 NLH Cashed $0 17) E vent 42, $1050 NLH Cashed $0 18) E vent 44, $320 NLH Cashed $0 19) E vent 45, $265 Turbo Cashed $0 20) E vent 45, $139 Second Chance Cashed $0 21) E vent 52, $320 NLH Cashed $0 [Another sick exit: 1770 played, 340 left, good chips, flopped a full house against chip leader and - for once played it perfectly. Got it all-in on the turn, 84% favourite.

4-outed on the river. I literally issued a cry of pain at that card. Marvellous…]

22) E vent 55, $530 NLH 1R 1A (had both) Cashed $0 23) E vent 57, $215 Omaha Hi-Lo turbo Cashed $0 24) E vent 60, $215 NLH Cashed $0

25) E vent 62, $5000 Main Event: Finished 451st/ 1627 at 4.30am; good run, played well but ran into AQ with AT and, sadly enough, cashed $0 26) E vent 62, $1050 2nd Chance Cashed $0 *********** SEPTEMBER 26th: OVERALL RESULTS So. It was a great start to the WCOOP, cashing 5 times in the first 9 events and 6 times overall. BUT a dry run later, ends up in a loss.

Total WCOOP income: $5,982 Total outlay: literally, only about $1,500 because I bought in almost exclusively with Frequent Player Points, only once or twice with cash, and PokerStars put me in the Main Event. So, technically, I’ve turned FPPs I wouldn’t otherwise have used into a cash profit of about $4,400.

However, if you imagine the FPPs were cash (and they do have some cash value), the literal outlay would be $10,154 - so an overall loss of $4,172.

Of course if you also add the Main Event expenditure, that’s $15,354 so an overall loss of $9,372.

Now, I wouldn’t have bought into the $5,200 event with my own money unless I’d won it earlier in the series - and I wouldn’t have bought into so many other events if I hadn’t run up hundreds of thousands of FPPs with my general Stars playing hours that I was never going to spend on clothes or iPads or other items from the store so might as well try to spin up - so these figures aren’t exactly representative of true costs as they would be in normal professional poker life. Personally, I feel like I had a great time playing lots of events to give myself a good shot at a big win, I’m pleased with 6 cashes, I know how close I came with a couple of the bad beats above, and I’m fine with a result of -$4,172 (mostly FPPs) and happy when I think of it as +$4,400 cash conversion! (not counting the sponsored Main Event).

Nevertheless, the moral is: it’s hard to beat these things, and with one’s own money the value is always in playing satellites to get in, and choosing events very selectively. For pure profit / professionalism, I played too many events in general and certainly too many events where I don’t really have an edge, eg. 6-max Omaha and hi-lo turbos.

The moral is also: beware of pros who show you only high and regular wins! The real figures are often kept guarded… Hope you appreciate the honesty here; I’ve really enjoyed the WCOOP, learned something from looking back at these figures, and wish good luck to all.

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Jason Mercier The Birth Of Cool

Amongst all the kids that have recently burst onto the poker scene, Jason Mercier might be the most talented live tournament player. After his famous win in EPT San Remo, the young gun from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has literally changed his path —from math studies to poker high-roller. Mercier has experienced one of the most impressive heaters of the 2000s, a period where you seem unbeatable, where you never get sucked out on, where you hit all your draws, one after another. Three years after his first title, Mercier still has the same nonchalant and cool attitude towards the poker business. The kid has grown up and seems mightier than ever…

Interview by Jérôme Schmidt / photos : Jules Pochy

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Interview

W

Why did you pick the World Poker Tour in Paris?

I have promised my friend a while ago, before the Epic schedule came out, to come to Europe with them, to play EPT Barcelona and WPT Paris. I do not like coming to Europe for short terms: unless I know I am going to stay for a while, I prefer to tour USA. I hate flying in fact! (laughs) After the WSOP-E, I have the EPT San Remo, where I burst onto the poker scene three years ago.

It’s a special tournament for me and I just cannot miss it.

How has this title changed your life?

It has clearly been the turning point of my career, as well as of my private life. Before that, I was the normal online grinder, with no special goals in life, just winning quite small whilst studying mathematics in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I did not want to move from my hometown, I am not a big traveller. Nowadays, almost all the online players leave USA to go to Canada, but I am not ready for this: now I am mostly considered as a live tournament player… Quite strange for

my age, right? (laughs) When I first arrived at the final table, three years ago, in San Remo, nobody at all knew my name, even my screename! Since then, it has been a fun ride, really cool…

Do you sometimes regret your anonymity?

I find it pretty interesting and cool when all those people want a picture with me and say “Hello Jason!” First, I found it real weird, but I got used to it I guess.

When did you start playing poker?

It was in high school and I was really young. I thought I had an edge, and I pretty much ruined all of my friends, at the age of 15-16… And when I discovered my age could get me extra bucks —like really much more money— if I were playing online, I decided to take my chance. I started working really hard on my game, and I finally could drop school in university because I made much more money online!

How did you manage your bankroll?

Before the EPT San Remo, I was mostly multitabling NL100 or NL200: I wanted to be a SuperNova Elite in PokerStars.

Just few weeks before San Remo, I had moved up to NL500 and NL1000.

After San Remo, I had a much bigger bankroll, and I decided to play even bigger, especially in PLO. I discovered also the mixed-games tables, which can be really juicy if you master correctly all those types of poker. It’s important for me to be a complete poker player, in any kind of game…

You succeeded in never getting broke?

Well, the most I have been broke, it’s only from backing or playing high-stakes tournaments —not really from cash-games, either live or online. I neved had more than a 200k downswing, which is a lot in reality, but not that much for a high-stakes player. I am fortunate enough to have some good poker friends to talk too, as well as a very competitive mind: I just cannot stand losing! It’s as simple as that…

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you have thought were really good, are not that brilliant… (laughs)

My EPT San Remo title changed my life Do you still do a lot of work on your poker skills?

After every bust, I try to analyse if I played it well or not. For example, in this WPT, I have been shortstack a while and I have only shown some good hands when shoving. In this spot, I really don’t know why McLean Karr calls my all-in with only 8-9o, especially with one caller before him. It is just ridiculous, because he knows he is beat and that he is not at all pot-involved. Sometimes he just plays like that and, recently, he has been pretty lucky at this game… I try not to be bitter about this, and I easily forget everyone’s mistakes.

Do you have gambling leaks?

I would definitely define myself as a gambler, of course, but I do not have big leaks regarding craps or table games, for example. I usually do flips with someone, at the end of cash-games or just for fun. I like sports betting as well, with friends, because we do not play against the house.

Do you remember your first time in Las Vegas?

At that time I had just turned out to be 21, and I went there only for fun. It was before San Remo, so I did not have wad of cashes in my pocket! (laughs) I just got wasted during three days, played some blackjack and tried to have the

most fun possible… When I came back, I told myself: “Dude, Vegas a is really party-town…” So when I flew back there the next summer, I knew I could not party like that if I wanted to play the WSOP, and I took it a little easier…

Do you think young kids like you can lose the value of money?

It really is difficult. I try not to because I see it too much often: guys who lose the value of a single dollar, who pay only with $100 bills. Then they lose 50k, and 100k, and afterwards 500k, and they just broke in a snap… If you lose money, you have to move to lower limits. You just cannot have all your bankroll on your table, even if it often happens! I have played the 2k-4K Limit game at the Bellagio this summer, during a short sessions, as well as 1k-2k. The swings are big, but I feel I can have an edge on this kind of table, so I gave it a chance…

How did you feel when you first played at the same table as your idols?

I used to watch a lot of TV shows about poker, and I was thrilled to hug Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu or Patrik Antonius, for example. Those guys were my model, and I wanted to play like them. Now, it’s just like everyone is the same —and some of the people

What remembrance do you have from your High Stakes Poker session?

There was this big hand versus Ivey, when I bumped in with A-4h. There was a raise and a call. Ivey called on the button, I squeezed with A-4h on the big bling. Flop was 2-3-7 rainbow.

I bet like 27k, Ivey re-raises me to 77k, and I finally decide to show to 190k total. He ended up tanking for ever, and called with 9-9… We drew it once and I lost it! It is the biggest pot I had ever lost —but I’ve won bigger ones.

You have experienced a real heater —would you be ready for a bad run?

Tournament poker is very different: you can bust from 34 tournaments in a row, even if you play decently.

Fortunately enough, I never had such a bad experience but one never knows…

I think that the poker player has to be aware that variance can be one of the toughest enemies to beat. By now, I have to admit I have really experienced a good run. Even at the starts of tournaments, I am able to accumulate a lot of chips. But recently, I think I’ve played a lot more shortstack… I feel I’m very good at playing any stack now.

Hopefully I’ll have all the chips at the end of the tournament for sure.

What still drives you in playing poker?

I just want to win even bigger so I can quit tournament poker in a few years.

I just want to keep winning and be recognized as one the best. I think I am, but I must remain it… It sometimes really hard to prove it everyday.

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InTervIeW

PrIze LIST

2011

tournoi

Résultat

Gains

2009

tournoi

Résultat

Gains

03 oct.

£ 2,000 European 8 Game championships - EPT/UK & Ireland Poker Tour - London, London

7

6,658

8 dec.

1

100,280

9 aug.

$ 20,000 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed - League main Event 2011-12 Epic Poker League - Event 1, Las vegas

$ 5,000 H.o.r.S.E. - 2009 doyle brunson Five diamond World Poker classic, Las vegas

3

360,970

16 oct.

$ 10,000 Pot Limit omaha - Festa al Lago, Las vegas

3

31,040

20 june

$ 5,000 Pot Limit omaha - Six Handed - 42nd World Series of Poker (WSoP) 2011, Las vegas

1

619,575

4 oct.

£ 2,500 No Limit Hold’em - EPT London, London

1

184,348

13 may

EPT 7 champion of champions Event - EPT Grand Final, madrid

1

74,212

26 sept.

4

38,913

12 april

$ 10,000 No Limit Hold’em - High roller bounty Shootout NAPT Uncasville, Uncasville

£ 10,000 No Limit Hold’em - World championship Event - 2009 World Series of Poker - Europe , London

1

246,600

2 sept.

 1,000 No Limit Hold’em EPT barcelona, barcelona

2

1 690

13 jan.

$ 25,000 No Limit Hold’em High roller Event - PokerStars caribbean Adventure, Paradise Island

8

129,480

1 june

$ 1,500 Pot Limit omaha - 40th World Series of Poker (WSoP) 2009, Las vegas

1

237,462

9 march

$ 1,000 No Limit Hold’em The Wynn classic , Las vegas

1

81,480

19 feb.

$ 5,000 No Limit Hold’em - 2009 L.A. Poker classic, Los Angeles

4

71,392

8 feb.

$ 1,500 Pot Limit omaha - 2009 L.A. Poker classic, Los Angeles

1

35,577

2010

tournoi

Résultat

Gains

12 nov.

$ 4,750 No Limit Hold’em - main Event - North American Poker Tour - Los Angeles, Los Angeles

7

28 sept.

£ 2,000 European 8 Game championship - EPT London, London

3

11 apr.

$ 25,000 No Limit Hold’em bounty Shootout - Pokerstars North American Poker Tour mohegan Sun, Uncasville

1

28 feb.

$ 25,100 High roller Event 2010 L.A. Poker classic, Los Angeles

3

141,780

$ 1,000 No Limit Hold’em deepstack - 2010 Southern Poker championship, biloxi

1

60,818

19 jan.

84,857

30,782

475,000

2008

tournoi

Résultat

Gains

5 oct.

£ 20,000 High roller Event - No Limit Hold’em - 2008 European Poker championships, London

1

944,847

10 sept.

 8,000 EPT barcelona EPT barcelona open, barcelona

6

324,946

1 april

 4,700 EPT Sanremo - No Limit Hold’em - EPT Sanremo, Sanremo

1

1,372,893

Total des gains (carrière) : $ 6,729,402 Total des gains en 2011 : $ 1,558,045

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PrIze LIST 2011

tournament

Result

earnings

27 Jun

$10,000 no Limit hold’em Six handed Championship 42nd World Series of Poker (WSoP) 2011, Las vegas

12 Jun

$10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship 42nd World Series of Poker (WSoP) 2011, Las vegas

12 may

€10,000 no Limit hold’em high roller Turbo EPT Grand Final, madrid

1st

$227,087

5 may

€25,000 no Limit hold’em high roller event EPT Grand Final, madrid

1st

$779,221

27 Feb

$25,100 high roller event 2011 L.A. Poker classic, Los Angeles

3rd

$146,055

3rd

1st

$447,074

$331,639

2008

tournament

Result

earnings

20 oct

$15,000 WPT Championship 6th Annual Festa Al Lago classic, Las vegas

1st

$1,411,015

13 oct

$2,500 no Limit hold’em 6th Annual Festa Al Lago classic, Las vegas

2nd

$155,870

15 may

€10,000 Grand Prix De Paris no Limit hold’em rendez vous A Paris 2008, Paris

5th

$122,468

15 apr

€10,000 Stars of Poker no Limit hold’em entry restricted EPT Grand Final, monte carlo

4th

$-

13 mar

$2,000 No Limit Hold’em The Wynn classic, Las vegas

5th

$11,097

5 Jan

$7,800 PokerStars Caribbean adventure PokerStars caribbean Adventure, Nassau

1st

$2,000,000

2010 9 Dec

€3,000 no Limit hold’em main event Trophees Haussmann, Paris

1st

$147,000

oct

€1,500 no Limit hold’em barriere Poker Tour, Lille

1st

$63,227

2007

24 apr

€5,000 no Limit hold’em heads Up EPT Grand Final, monte carlo

2nd

$79,876

23 nov

$2,500 aPPT main event - no Limit hold’em APPT macau, macau

5th

$48,576

11 Jun

$2,500 no Limit hold’em 38th World Series of Poker (WSoP) 2007, Las vegas

9th

$29,124

17 Jan

DKK37,500 ePT no Limit hold’em Scandinavian open, copenhagen

2nd

$399,953

7 oct

€5,000 - no Limit hold’em EPT - The big double 2006, baden

16th

$15,976

1 Jul

$2,000 no Limit hold’em 37th World Series of Poker (WSoP) 2006, Las vegas

37th

$10,478

€500 no Limit hold’em The French open, deauville

9th

$2,591

2009 27 nov

€10,000 no Limit hold’em Team event 2009 belgium open Poker championships, Namur

1st

$16,744

18 apr

$25,000 no Limit hold’em Championship event Seventh Annual Five Star World Poker classic, Las vegas

3rd

$3776,245

6 mar

$20,000 no Limit hold’em Nbc National Heads-Up championship 2009, Las vegas

3

2 mar

$500 no Limit hold’em The Wynn classic , Las vegas

2nd

$25,414

23 Jan

€20,000 no Limit hold'em high rollers event EPT - deauville, deauville

3rd

$101,839

7 Jan

$24,500 no Limit hold’em high roller event PokerStars caribbean Adventure, Paradise Island

1st

rd

2006

$125,000

2005 19 Feb

$433,500

Total earnings (career) : $8,437,747 Total des gains en 2011 : $2,087,762

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UPCOmInG TOUrnamenTS POKER 52 auropa // NovEmbEr-dEcEmbEr 2011 // ISSUE 2

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World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour Prague

Winter session in

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The capital of the czech republic will move to the rhythm of poker during the first days of december, hosting two stops of major international circuits in a row for a ten-day poker festival full of action and surprise. The World Poker Tour will offer its first tournaments in the czech republic since its creation in 2002, and the highlight of the series will be a €3,200 + €300 main Event, from the 1st until the 5th of december. on the very same day, the European Poker Tour will take over the competition with a €5,300 main Event where a fifth champion will be crowned after five days of play. crowds of players will come from all over Europe to take part of those two amazing series and to enjoy the delights this wonderful city has to offer during it’s winter wonderland. We wish you a snowy and beautiful stay in Prague, and of course a good run on the tables.

T

the city of a thousand spires

Divided in two parts by the Vtlava River, Prague is one of the most beautiful capitals in the world. Its thousand year old history, numerous architectural sights and attractions make the political, cultural and economical center of the Czech Republic an open air museum. Since the 1990s, Prague has become one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations. There is a lot to do and see in the “city of a thousand spires”, and you can easily explore the intimate city center by foot, walking across romantic bridges and through small medieval streets.

The main touristic sights are the Old Town Hall and the Tyn Church, the two major buildings of Staromestske Namesti.

The central square of the city, the Old Town Bridge Tower, and Charles Bridge, symbolises the Czech Republic. Then, of course, there is the Prague Castle, a collection of opulent palaces, picturesque streets and impressive churches all perched on top of a cliff where you can enjoy some great views over the entire city.

Christmas markets and winter wonderland

Contemporary cultural life is also one of the main attractions in Prague, with an impressive number of museums, operas, concert halls and galleries. The Czech National Museum, the sites of the Prague City Gallery, the Czech Museum of Fine

By Julien Morello

LIST OF WInnerS ePT PraGUe season iV-2007

Field: 555 - Prize pool: 1st Arnaud mattern 2d Gino Alacqua 3rd Kristian Kjondal

€2,530,240 €708,400 €407,300 €235,300

Field: 570 - Prize pool: 1st Salvatore bonavena 2d massimo di cicco 3rd Andrew Alan chen

€2,764,500 €774,000 €445,000 €257,000

Field: 586 - Prize pool: 1st Jan Skampa 2d Eyal Avitan 3rd Stefan matsson

€2,930,000 €680,000 €454,000 €255,000

Field: 563 - Prize pool: 1st roberto romanello 2d Emiliano bono 3rd marcin Horecki

€2,730,550 €640,000 €435,000 €247,000

season V-2008

season Vi-2009

season Vii-2010

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Prague is ready to welcome two stops of two main poker circuits Arts and the Museum of Decorative Arts, are the most visited institutions. For music lovers, the AghaRTA Jazz Centrum and the Ungelt Jazz & Blues Club are the places to be, but you can also enjoy good music performed by swinging jazzbands at anytime in the streets.

Christmas is the perfect time of year to visit this stunning city with its famed Yuletide markets, featuring gingerbread and hot wine stalls, creating a warm atmosphere. Starting late November, Christmas Markets occupy the squares of the city, selling arts, craft, Czech specialties and Prague souvenirs, and it becomes the perfect places to shop for Christmas presents.

When WPT Season X‌

Prague will be ready to welcome two stops of two main international circuits in early December. The first big event will open on the 29th of November, with tournaments organized by the WPT, a first in the Czech Republic since its creation in

Restaurants The Grill Restaurant

Located on the second floor of the Corinthia Hotel, The Grill restaurant offers international cuisine. The menu includes a delicious variety of meat and fish, all cooked over charcoal for aficionado of the genuine barbecue taste. We love the impressive skyline panoramas and the live cooking station.

20% discount if you book your room online.

CzecHouse Grill & Rotisserie

Enjoy a modern twist on traditional Czech cuisine at the Hilton Prague Hotel. Chic, earthy colors framed by striking pieces of art give this contemporary Prague restaurant a designer feel. Sample local specialties like Svickova beef fillets or select one of the fresh stone-grilled fishes while chooseing from a sophisticated wine list. Dinner only.

Terasa U Zlate Studne

The Terasa U Zlate Studne is located on the fourth floor of the historical U Zlate Studne Hotel, built in 1528. In this restaurant designed by Italian architects Lorenzo Carmelini and Katrin Herden, it combines modern style with Renaissance era, Chef Pavel Sapik will give you the chance to taste a new fusion of French, Italian, Czech and Asian flavors as you enjoy the breathtaking view.

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Hotels Corinthia Hotel Prague

Ranked highly on Prague’s hotels list, the Corinthia Hotel Prague is located close to all the sights and attractions and offers an exquisite view over the city for a reasonable price.

The service is impeccable in all the facilities: swimming pool and spa on the 26th floor, hotel taxis, three restaurants and two bars. Special prices for World Poker Tour players.

Hilton Prague Hotel

Winner of “The Best Hotel in the Czech Republic” for the fourth consecutive year, the Hilton Prague Hotel is located close to the city center, overlooking the River Vltava. Relax with a massage at Cybex Health Club or enjoy the indoor pool. With all the plentiful services they offer, you would have a great time after playing poker. You can book a room online while you register for the European Poker Tour.

Design Hotel Yasmin

The new atmosphere of the four star Design Hotel Yasmin offers high standard hospitality service just a few steps from Wenceslas Square in the heart of Prague. The stylish and modern rooms are all equipped with luxurious bathrooms, and the hotel provides a sauna and fitness center, as well as a restaurant and a café. The hotel has prepared special rates and packages during winter, the best place to spend Christmas in Prague.

2002. Beside the €3,200 + €300 Main Event, which will run from the 1st until the 5th of December, the series will offer two €100 + €10 Satellites to the Main Event and three €1,000 + €100 events playing PLO and NLH. Perfectly located near the city center, the Corinthia Hotel and Casino will host the action, providing beautiful décor and great service, all dedicated to the World Poker Tour players.

… Meets EPT Season VIII

Then, from the 5th to the 10th of December, the European Poker Tour will bring the action to the Hilton Prague Hotel where a fifth champion will be crowned, one year after Roberto Romanello’s success, as the Welsh pro left Prague with the first prize of €640,000. The Main Event’s buy-in remains unchanged at €5,300, and we are expecting some great satellites and side events, like the €3,200 Heads Up event, the €330 and €1,100 Pot Limit Omaha tournaments, the numerous NLHE events, with buy-ins ranging from €330 to €2,150, and the anticipated two-day €10,300 High-Roller event, where Swedish player Nichlas Lattson won €127,000 in 2010.

A large number of famous participants have come to play in the Czech Republic since 2007, such as Liv Boeree, Luca Pagano, Macel Luske, James Akenhead, Kevin MacPhee, Anton Wigg,

Dominik Nitsche, Theo Jorgensen, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Marcin Horecki and Arnaud Mattern, the latter who launched his poker pro carrier in Prague in 2007, overcoming 554 opponents for a €708,400 first place prize.

When two of the most important poker tours are planning on stopping in the biggest poker city of Central Europe, you can be sure that this terrific festival will attract crowds of players from all over Europe and North America, all vying for a share of the massive prize pools. If you don’t make it to a final table, you will surely enjoy the fairy tale winter atmosphere of Prague, and why not attend Rihanna’s concert, 8pm, 7th of December at in the O2 Arena.

How to get there:

Located 10km north-west of the city, Prague Ruzyne Airport is linked to all major European cities, served by the main European aircraft companies as well as low-cost companies such as Wizz Air, BMIbaby, Jet2.com and easyJet. Several bus companies operate from the airport to the city center, serving Dejvicka, Zlicin, Hlavni, and Namesti Republiky stations. Shuttle companies and airport exclusive taxis, while a little on the pricy side, are the fastest and the most comfortable way to reach the city center.

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Bars and Night clubs Cloud 9 sky bar & lounge

Indulge in spectacular views from the Cloud 9 Sky Bar & Lounge at the Hilton Prague Hotel where you can choose from a wide selection of contemporary cocktails including special signature drinks and dine on delicious meals ideal for sharing with friends. Relax and enjoy music from well-known guest DJ’s.

Blue Note Bar

The Blue Note Bar in the Corinthia Hotel sets the jazzy mood later in the days with its aperitifs, tasty cocktails,

fine cigars and unique collection of whiskies. The perfect place to feel at ease after a day of competition.

Duplex Club & Café

Right in the center of Wenceslas Square, in a terrific position atop a high cubic building, the Duplex is a good place to grab a coffee or a glass of wine during the day. By night it transforms into one of Prague’s most exclusive clubs, with several bars, two chill-out areas, and a roof terrace offering a stunning view over the city. Mick Jagger celebrated his 60th birthday there – pretty cool.

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SCamS In PraGUe Prague is a relatively safe city, but a lot of tourists complain about different kinds of scams they experienced in the Czech Republic, mostly with taxi drivers, restaurant waiters and money exchange officers.

In restaurants, you can be asked to pay additional extras, likes sauces, bread, rolls or pretzels put on the table, or an additional service charge, a 10% charge that is actually included in the bill. Sometimes, the English and Czech menus don’t show the same prize. Always check the prize before, and check your bill twice. If in doubt, don’t hesitate to talk to the staff.

The local currency is the Czech crown, so you will have to change money there. Do not exchange money on the street, and take care of the rates and the commissions

before conclude a deal. You can find ATM at every metro station, close to banks and at post offices.

Taxi scams are surely the most common in Prague, for Czech natives or foreigners, with a large panel of practices: fast taxi meter, “luggage” or “outside of city center” tariffs, change and “scenic route”, etc. Always check what could be the approximate fare before asking for a taxi, and immediately call the police if the taxi driver begins to argue.

Plainclothes policemen or metro clerks are also a problem, asking to check your ticket at the stations or your wallet during a fake illegal money changing investigation. Do not pay inexplicable fine if you are sure that your ticket is valid, and ask for a receipt if you feel threatened. Don’t show your wallet to anybody, and beware of “tourists” asking for directions, they are usually party to the scams.

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The wonderful Es Saadi’s pool.

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High Level Tournaments in Morocco

World Poker Tour Marrakech / FPS SunFest Mazagan This autumn, the splendid Kingdom of Morocco will welcome two amazing international events, in two of the most beautiful places in the country. From the 24th until the 27th of November, the Casino de Marrakech-Es Saadi will host the third edition of the World Poker Tour Marrakech, the first and only African stop of the triple continental circuit. Marrakech, known as the Red City, and its high-end facilities will be all about poker during this four day series where the best players will gather around the tables for the €3,300 Main Event. Then, from the 30th of November until the 4th of December, the Mazagan Beach Resort & Casino will take over the competition for the first stop of the France Poker Series and its so called SunFest Mazagan, which will hold a €1,200 Main Event in a luxurious seaside property. Morocco could quite well be the new poker Eldorado.

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Located on the foothills of the Atlas, the biggest mountain range in North Africa, Marrakech is a busy, cosmopolitan city, with a great historical heritage. It is the most important former imperial city in Morocco’s history and it has the biggest souk and one of the busiest squares in Africa, the Djemaa el Fna Square. The “Red City”, a nickname given for the color of the stone used in its buildings and the sand of the desert nearby, is one of the most attractive cities in Morocco, and every year it welcomes crowds of tourists looking for architectural treasures, authentic traditions combined with modern comfort and sunny days all year long.

8 million square meters of luxury

In the heart of the city, facing the snowy mountains of the Atlas, stands the Es-Saadi Gardens and Resort, a colossal complex of no less than 8 million square meters offering a sumptuous park, a hotel, a palace, villas, restaurants, swimming pools, spas, an extravagant casino and the best

By Antoine Salvi

nightclub in Morocco, the TheatrO. This is the perfect place to live the 1001 nights dream, the best possible blend of luxury and refinement, topped by the Moroccan traditional hospitality.

Live the dream for a reasonable buy-in

Since its first edition in 2009, the World Poker Tour Marrakech has attracted some of the best international players, notably from Europe and North Africa. Main Events have brought together up to 30 different nationalities at the tables. Many poker stars were in the field in 2009 and 2010, like Ross Boatman, Dominik Nitsche, Huck Seed, Antonio Esfandieri, Sorel Mizzi, Carlos Mortensen, Annette Obrestad, Benny Spindler, Tony G., John Tabatabai and Johan Williamson.

Morocco and France have a long love story, and the best French players always feel at home in Marrakech. So don’t

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Enjoy roulette at any limit at Es Saadi’s resort.

be surprised if you meet poker pros like Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Roger Hairabedian, Thomas Bichon, Arnaud Mattern, Liz Lieu, Alexia Portal, Davidi Kitai, Antony Lellouche, Ludovic Lacay, Léo Truche, Guillaume de La Gorce, David Benyamine and Pascal Perrault.

The 2009 WPT Marrakech was won by the Frenchman Christophe Savary, followed in 2010 by the German Sebastian Homman, who both surpassed cosmopolitan and high-ranking final tables mostly composed by French players, for a huge cash prize. This year the field will be even bigger: the buy-in has been lowered from €4,250 + €750 to a more affordable €3,000 + €300. So pack your summer clothes and come to Morocco to have a chance to grab your first WPT bracelet!

mazagan : a truly unique resort

The WPT Marrakech will not be the only exciting event held in Morocco this autum. Only three days after the WPT final table at the Casino de Marrakech, the France Poker Series will launch its second season with a special event: the PokerStars Sun Fest Mazagan. The France Poker Series chose another extravagant site to set its festival: the Mazagan Beach Resort and Casino, a truly unique resort on the seaside just 200 km north of Marrakech, where players will enjoy

LIST OF WInnerS WPT marraKeCh eS SaaDI 2009

Field: 416 players.

Buy-in: Prize Pool: 1st christophe Savary 2d Eoghan o’dea 3rd Ludovic Lacay

2010

€4,500 $2,450,223 €377,273 €263,147 €164,467

Field: 222 players.

Buy-in: €5,000 Prize Pool: $1,222,400 (€956,652) 1st Sebastien Homman €250,196 2d Guillaume cescut €138,991 3rd Sébastien compte €92,661

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The luxuous Egyptian bar in Es Saadi resort.

How to get there Mazagan Beach Resort

the immensity of the ocean, endless beaches and sweetscented gardens.

Set in 250 hectares of undeveloped land on a cape next to a seven-kilometer beach, this sumptuous five star hotel with 500 rooms and suites, inspired by Morocco architecture with its green-tiled roofs melting into luxurious vegetation, will welcome the France Poker Series players in a purely majestic setting. Overlooking the lagoon, the swimming pool and the patio, the resort features a 180° view over the Atlantic Ocean. A sight that will take your breath away.

All the world’s cuisines

To entice the eyes and the palate, the eight restaurants of the Mazagan Beach Resort offer a cuisine which brings together

Arrival at Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport, located south of Casablanca. Approx 80km by highway (one hour).

Es-Saadi Gardens and Resort

Arrival at Marrakech-Menara International Airport.

24/7 taxi service to the city center (15 minutes).

Rent a car

Main international car rental companies offer rental services in both Casablanca and Marrakech airports.

Booking

Mazagan Beach Resort: +212 5 2338 8000 Es-Saadi Gardens and Resort: +212 5 2433 8811

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the best in international dining and the refinement and variety of Moroccan gastronomy. Whether it’s exclusive fine dining or more informal refreshments one desires, guests are genuinely spoiled for choice when it comes to sampling Mazagan’s numerous culinary delights.

Mouthwatering traditional dishes, served and prepared following practices that have been carried on for centuries, are on the menu in the authentic Mediterranean, Moroccan and specialty seafood restaurants. Guests can always eat in style, sampling the freshest ingredients and the carefully selected wine list, whether it’s in the hotel lobby lounge, the golf club or the casino.

Inside or outside Mazagan’s resort, the player will always be happy.

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The SunFest Mazagan

The wonderful Mazagan casino, Morocco’s largest gambling venue, will be crowded from the 30th of November to the 4th of December for the first FPS SunFest Mazagan in history.

Besides the three-day €1,100 + €100 Main Event, from the 1st to the 3rd of December, the festival includes a €165 Satellite Main Event, a two-day €2,700 + €300 High Roller event, and three interesting €270 + €30 side events, playing THNL Knockout, Omaha PLO 6Handed and H.O.R.S.E. 8Handed games.

The first FPS season was a huge success and attracted large fields at all of the stops across the casinos of France. No doubt the best French players will seat at the Mazagan Casino tables, like PokerStars team pros Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Arnaud Mattern and Julien Brécard. Registration is already available and you can qualify for the event online at PokerStars. The sponsor offers platinum packages, which include your €1,200 buy-in for the Main Event, four nights in the Mazagan Beach Resort from Wednesday, the 30 th of November until Sunday, the 4th of December, a €300 ticket for the Side Events or Live Satellites, as well as €360 in expenses for travel.

Between mountains, desert and sea, Morocco has become the biggest and the best poker location in North Africa thanks to its amazing facilities. The events held in its wonderful casinos are an exceptional alternative to the biggest European tournaments. So if you are looking for great games and peaceful sunny holidays this autumn, Morocco is already waiting for you.

Enjoy the night breeze in the Marrakech’s resort.

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Tournament

Sint Maarten OPEN

Sea, sun, sand

and poker

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From the 23rd until the 30th of November, the most luxurious island of the Caribbean Sea will welcome a great poker series: the sixth edition of the Sint Maarten Open, hosted by the sumptuous Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino.

This eight-day poker festival will be supervised by TK Poker Events, the wellknown tournament director Thomas Kremser’s society, and highlighted by a $1,850 + $150 NLHE Championship Event. Perfect organization, tropical climate and exclusive venue, the Sint Maarten Open will have all the ingredients for the best poker experience ever.

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By Julien Morello

The small island of Sint Maarten, located in the North East of the Caribbeans, approximately 300km from Puerto Rico, is shared since 1648 by France and the Netherlands, and over time has become an exciting, active and bustling island, home to residents from over 90 different nations. Festive nightlife, precious jewelry, exotic drinks, plentiful casinos, luxury boutiques and rich French and Indian cuisine, you can find everything you need under the sunlight of “the biggest small island in the world”.

A destination within a destination

In order to offer more entertainment to its special guests, since 2003 the island hosts a great poker series, the Sint Maarten Open within the lush surroundings of the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino, set on a 10 acres of luxurious beachfront property. Ideally located in the heart of Maho Village, on the southwest coast of Sint Maarten, this amazing complex is only five minutes from the Princess Juliana International Airport.

With 534 guest rooms and suites, it is the island’s largest resort, a “destination within a destination”, with its own shopping promenade, tennis courts, a spa, a fitness center, gardens, swimming pools, restaurants, bars and lounges, a casino and nightly entertainment. Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino is all about entertainment, luxury, comfort, relaxation and fine food, whenever and wherever you want. A heaven within heaven, and an unforgettable holidays experience.

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The Casino Royale

Sonesta Resort’s masterpiece, its Casino Royale, is the largest in Sint Maarten’s with 4,260 square metres of gaming. Located right across the street from the complex, it offers 450 slot machines, American and French roulette, craps, baccarat, blackjack and, of course, poker. The casino also has a private “high-roller” area with the highest table limits on the island, a VIP room truly dedicated to the professional gamblers. The casino has been hosting international poker tournaments for several years, but this autumn the Sint Maarten Open’s action will be upgraded thanks to the Austrian tournament director Thomas Kremser.

Thomas Kremser brings a unique poker experience in Sint Maarten

Designed by the best tournament director

Indeed, Thomas Kremser, the TK Poker Events International’s chief executive, 2001 European Poker Award’s Casino Staff Person of the Year winner, and former WPT and EPT tournament director, will run this series, for the finest tournament structures ever proposed on the island. The highlight of the festival will be the three-day $1,850 + $150 NLHE Championship Event, from the 26th until the 28th of November, coming along with six side events and two $120 Supersatellites for the Championship.

The side events will include a $330 NLHE event, three $220 NLHE events, a $220 Pot Limit Omaha event and a $1,100 NLHE event with 10,000 chip starting stacks.

Even if your eyes won’t leave the poker table, you will undoubtedly get caught by the fever and the charm of the Caribbeans. High quality tournaments specially designed by the one of the best directors in a paradise resort standing beside the Simpson Bay Lagoon… what else?

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Greek debut European Poker Tour Loutraki

for the European circuit

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From the 15th to the 20th of November, the five star club Hotel casino Loutraki, located a few kilometres away from corinth, will host the first European Poker Tour event ever organised in Greece with a €4,000 + €400 main Event. EPT and casino Loutraki will offer a unique tournament in a unique location, the perfect combination for an outstanding poker experience.

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2011 is a great year for Live Poker in Greece, with the coming of the first international poker tournaments setting up in Chalkidiki for the GSOP Live Event from the 12th to the 15th of October, and in Loutraki for the Greek Poker Cup and the European Poker Tour. Indeed, from the 15th to the 20th of November, the resort city of Loutraki will welcome players coming from all over Europe, trying to grab a share of the big expected prize pool of this first ever EPT event in the country’s history.

a perfect spot for idyllic holidays

Only 80km away from Athens and 4km away from the impressive city of Corinth, and facing the Corinthian Gulf and Geraneia Mountains, Loutraki has wonderful landscapes.

Beautiful beaches, unspoiled natural sights and inestimable archeological sites, like the Temple of Apollo or the Heraion of Perachora, the sanctuary of the goddess Hera, attract floods of tourists looking for sunny holidays and authenticity in the coastal spa town known since antiquity for its mineral springs.

Overlooking the largest and the most charming beach in the region, the five star Club Hotel Casino Loutraki, with its 255 rooms and 20 luxury suites, is a whole world of leisure, entertainment and comfort surrounded by vast gardens.

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By Antoine Salvi

eUrOPean POKer TOUr SeaSOn vIII LIST OF WInnerS ePt Barcelona

Field: 811 players Buy-in: Prize pool: 1st martin Schleich 2d dragan Kostic 3rd Eugene Katchalov

€5,300 €4,055,000 €850,000 €532,000 €315,000

Field: 282 players Buy-in: Prize pool: 1st ronny Kaiser 2d Grzegorz cichocki 3rd raigo Aasmaa

€4,250 €1,071,600 €275,000 €180,000 €110,000

ePt tallinn

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How to get there Designed by the renowned Alexandros Tombazis, the complex stands in perfect harmony with the natural environment and offers a perfect spot for the young and trendy, who come to enjoy water sports, spas and even fishing. Unique comfort, atmospheric decor and luxury amenities make this place an ideal destination for idyllic holidays.

The biggest poker tournament ever played in Greece

The Hotel Casino Loutraki was the very first gaming centre in the country, starting its operation in 1928, and after a re-establishment in 1995 it became one of the largest casinos in Europe. Open 24 hours a day, the gaming hall contains 80 tables and 1,000 slot machines, offering the most modern and exciting games as well as a VIP room dedicated to the most demanding players. Unsurprisingly it was choose by the EPT to welcome the biggest poker tournaments ever played in the region.

The highlight of the series will be the €4,000 + €400 Main Event, where players will start with 30,000 in chips with levels

Athens International Airport is served by all major airlines, as well as European low cost companies, such as Vueling, easyJet, Air One, Brussels Airlines, Air Transat or Darwin Airline Baboo. From the airport (80 km from the resort) you can grab a coach or a taxi (€180 for a single journey) or use the Athens Proastiakos Suburban Light Railway to Corinth station (€8, 75 minutes), where you can catch a taxi to Loutraki (€12). If you are planning to stay in the Club Loutraki, just use the hotel’s shuttle which leaves the airport every two hours (€15 for the round trip, beverages on the gaming floor and meal at the Casino’s Neptune restaurant).

at 60 minutes on Day 1 and 75 minutes thereafter. Side events will be announced soon on www.europeanpokertour.com/ tournaments/loutraki, but don’t forget, unlike to the rest of Europe, Greece’s casinos do not admit players under 21 years.

When the largest European Poker circuit meets the biggest casino in Greece, in such a stunning location, everything is brought together to offer to poker players the most heavenly poker experience.

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WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic

The Las Vegas

Finale

The World Poker Tour will conclude the first half of its tenth season in the poker mecca with one of its best tournaments, the Five Diamond World Poker Classic. The Bellagio will celebrate the ten years of its own WPT event from the 6th until the 11th of December with this A-Range $10,000 +$300 championship, where crowds of poker celebrities will mass, playing for a part of the massive prize pool. But success and adrenaline are not exclusive to the poker elite, so go live the dream of every poker player and take part of this major tournament’s history. Welcome to Las Vegas!

By Julien Morello / photos by Jules Pochy POKER 52 auropa // novEMBER-decemBER 2011 // ISSUE 2

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WPT FIve DIamOnD POKer CLaSSIC LIST OF WInnerS season i-2002

Field: 146 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st Gus Hansen 2nd John Juanda 3rd Freedy deeb

season ii-2003

Field: 314 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st Paul Philips 2nd dewey Tomko 3rd Gus Hansen

season iii-2004 Field: 376 Buy-in Prize pool 1st daniel Negreanu 2nd Humberto brenes 3rd vinny Landrum

season iV-2005 $10,000 $1,416,000, $556,460 $278,240 $139,120

Field: 555 Buy-in Prize pool 1st rhene Pedersen 2nd Patrik Antonius 3rd doyle brunson

season Vii-2008 $15,000 $8,075,250 $2,078,185 $1,046,470 $563,485

Field: 497 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st david rheem 2nd Justing Young 3rd Evan mcNiff

$15,000 $7,231,350 $1,538,730 $936,760 $540,440

$10,000 $3,044,750, $1,101,908 $552,853 $276,426

Field: 583 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st Joseph Hachem 2nd Jim Hanna 3rd daniel Negreanu

$15,000 $8,482,650 $2,207,575 $1,099,430 $592,000

Field: 329 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st daniel Alaei 2nd Josh Arieh 3rd Faraz Jaka

$15,000 $4,761,450 $1,428,430 $952,290 $571,374

$15,000 $5,470,800, $1,770,218 $923,475 $462,851

Field: 626 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st Eugene Katchalov 2nd Ted Kearly 3rd dave Ulliott

$15,000 $9,390,000 $2,482,605 $1,252,640 $674,500

Field: 438 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st Antonio Esfandirari 2nd Andrew robl 3rd vanessa rousso

$10,000 $4,261,267 $870,124 $549,003 $358,964

season V-2006

season Vi-2007

season Viii-2009

season iX

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The Mojave Desert, the Strip, hundreds of casinos and crowds of gamblers playing poker and slot machines looking for fun and money: yes, you are in Vegas, the most famous gambling city of the world. Known as the entertainment capital of the planet, Sin City never sleeps, and for 70 years it has been providing countless attractions for daydreamers.

the Bellagio: an institution

Some of these attractions have become year after year genuine institutions, such as the Rio Casino, while other rose lately, like the Bellagio, opened in 1998 on the Strip. Its majestic architecture and its stunning elegance, embellished by the 8-acre lake whith wonderful fountains, make this AAA Five Diamond Award winner and its thousands rooms and suites an incontrovertible place to visit in Vegas.

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Hotels Bellagio

If you want to live poker 24 hour a day, chat with the best poker pros and enjoy stunning facilities and services, the Bellagio is the place to stay in Las Vegas. Book one of the 4,000 rooms and suites and enjoy the view over the famous Fountains (as seen in Ocean’s eleven) for approximately $160 on weekdays. You will be comfortably situated in the heart of the action.

Palms Hotel & Casino

Located on Hugh Hefner Road in front of the Rio, this resort and its 55 floors offers quiet and tranquility, for a

reasonable price, from $150 for a smallest suite to $450 for the biggest. Young guns like Tom Dwan use to stay there during the WSOP, and enjoy the two other towers of this huge complex and their crazy night life. Just follow the bunny…

Artisan Hotel

At the heart of the city, the Artisan Hotel’s architecture is far from what you can see in Vegas. Open since 2006, this four star hotel looks like an old colonial house from Louisiana lost in Industrial Road, the well-known night life avenue.

Comfortable and relaxing rooms from $90, a great deal.

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WOrLD POKer TOUr SeaSOn X LIST OF WInnerS wPt spanish Championship

Field: 216 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st Lukas berglund 2nd romain matteoli 3rd Frédéric bussot

wPt legends of Poker

€3,500 €691,200 €260,000 €118,000 €64,000

wPt slovenia

Field: 141 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st miha Travnik 2nd vincenzo Natale 3rd Johannes Korsar

€3,300 €410,244 €102,623 €70,700 €48,500

Field: 757 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st Will Failla 2nd Ken Aldridge 3rd Jeff vertes

$3,700 $2,570,015 $758,085 $365,800 $186,400

wPt Grand Prix de Paris

Field: 312 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st matt Waxman 2nd Hugo Lemaire 3rd Frédéric magen

You will enjoy the huge poker room of the Big Game’s casino, next to the mythical Bobby’s Room, named after Booby Baldwin, the former owner of the casino and an eccentric poker player, where VIPs and high-rollers play up to $4,000/$8,000 games, for some amazing seven figures pots.

Play the Doyle Brunson’s tournament

Poker stars feel at home at the Bellagio, which they call “the Office”, and the list of the WPT Five Diamond finalists proves it perfectly: Gus Hansen, Scotty Nguyen and Daniel Negreanu (each twice!), Patrik Antonius, Phil Laak, John Juanda, Freddy Deeb, Joseph Hachem, David Rheem, Eugene

€7,500 €2,252,650 €518,750 €311,100 €211,100

wPt Borgata Poker open

Field: 1,131 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st bobby oboodi 2nd Jin Hwang 3rd daniel buzgon

$3,500 $4,220,161 $922,441 $554,303 $335,433

wPt malta

Field: 240 players Buy-in Prize pool 1st matt Gianetti 2nd cecilia Pescaglini 3rd Filippo bianchini

€3,300 €698,400 €200,000 €116,700 €76,820

Katchalov, Hoyt Corkins, Steve Sung, Paul Phillips, Abe Mosseri, Nam Le, Daniel Alaei, Josh Arieh, Faraz Jaka, Shawn Buchanan, Antonio Esfandiari, Andrew Robl, Vanessa Rousso, John Racener and Doyle Brunson, they all made it to the top six! The WPT even gave Poker Dolly’s name to the Bellagio Five Diamond series the year after the legend of poker finished at the third place in 2005 for $563,485.

The great experience has become more affordable last year, when the $15,000 buy-in was reduced to $10,000, for five days of competition. If you hit the rail too soon or grab the first price, you will find time to see past Sin City’s border, likes Lake Mead or the Death Valley. Because Vegas is not only gambling, it’s much more than that.

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Restaurants and nightlife There are restaurants for every taste and for every budget in Vegas, and all you have to do is to choose the good places.

Avoid the buffets; crowded and boring, and listen to your cravings. You want a cheap and tasty burger? So don’t miss the In’N’Out or the Fat Burger on the top of the Strip, right behind Planet Hollywood. For Japanese food, the Wynn hosts a fantastic restaurant serving teriyaki, teppanyaki, sushi... great sushi, and a great selection of sake. If you are looking for a steakhouse, go downtown to Binion’s or, in a trendier setting, choose the Palms’ Nine Steakhouse. The Noodles, in the Bellagio, offers great Chinese food for a reasonable price, and if you are looking for fabulous French cuisine, Ducasse and Robuchon are waiting for you on the top of the Strip.

Las Vegas never sleeps, and the city is famous for its terrific nightlife. During weekdays all night clubs are affordable and pleasant, but during the weekend pitch on alternative places, like the BB King Blues Club behind the Venetian, the Sand Dollar on Spring Mountain Road or the new Metropolitan on the Strip. If you feel homesick, you can find Irish pubs on the south of the Strip, and if you want to party all night long, pass the doors of The Bank (Bellagio), the Pussycat Club (Caesars), the Moon (Palms) or Tao (Venetian). After 6am, the Drais (After Hours) on Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo, and the Spearmint Rhino, on Industrial Road, are good options.

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The Baltic Unibet Open Riga

Poker Festival

Since 2007, the Unibet Open has been stopping in numerous Western, Southern, Eastern and Northern Europe poker cities. After three successful series in Malta, Barcelona and Dublin on its fifth season, the tour will go all the way to the North East of the continent to stop in Riga, Latvia, for its grand finale. From the 1st until the 4th of December, the three-day â‚Ź1,500 Main Event will animate the glamorous Royal Casino Spa & Hotel Resort for the biggest Unibet Open ever organized. Here is why you should to head to the Baltic state for this winter festival.

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riga is one of the nicest World Heritage Sites

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The Unibet Open is one of the most moving poker circuits in Europe, it just never settles down. Since 2007, the Unibet International’s own tour has stopped in Poland, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Portugal, Hungary, Malta and Ireland, before reaching Riga, the capital of Latvia, in Northern Europe, for its big 2011 finale in early December. It will be the first time the Open stops in the Baltic states, and Riga is the perfect location to associate live poker action with a new culture.

history, culture and entertainment

Riga’s historical center has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is indeed home to the largest concentration of Jugenstil (German Art Nouveau) architecture in the world. The Latvian capital is one of the most attractive in Europe, captivating hoards of tourists every year looking for Northern and Slavian culture in the Old Town and around the Freedom Monument. Winter is the peak season, as small Christmas markets warm up visitors with hot wine and festive fare.

Riga knows what entertainment should be. The Latvian National Opera and the Latvian National Theatre, founded in the late 1910’s, embrace Baltic and international masterpieces.

Bars and clubs, likes Amber Night, Crystal Club, Essential Club and Godvil, fill most of the Old Town, keeping Riga’s reputation as having the best nightlife in Europe; and no less than 26 casinos stand in the city, for all kinds of gambling pleasures.

UnIbeT OPen FInaL evenT WInnerS 2007

warsaw: Field: 120 players Prize pool: Winner: Stale Lokse

$176,244 $65,090

warsaw: Field: 270 players Prize pool: Winner: Simon Johansson

$486,758 $152,355

warsaw: Field: 401 players Prize pool: Winner: Jimmy Jonsson

$940,307 $239,778

london: Field: 273 players.

Winner: Paul valkenburg

£109,550

2008

2009 2010

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TOUrnamenT

Welcome to the main Event the biggest unibet open in an extravagant casino

The most luxurious casino of the city is undoubtedly the Royal Casino Spa & Hotel, a unique five star establishment located in the heart of the city. It is also the biggest entertainment center in the Baltic region, featuring the nightclubs Studio 69, La Rocca and Tutti Frutti as well as a gambling culture. The Royal Casino features baccarat, blackjack, craps, keno, pai gow, roulette and poker, in a true Vegas style. The complex has already held international standard tournaments, like the Russian Poker Series, but this time it’s another story. The predictable success that the Unibet Open will produce will be an excellent way for it to join the main European casino network.

As a Christmas present, Unibet has decided to uncap the Riga €1,500 Main Event, for more players, more action, and a massive prize pool. The prize money is expected to become the biggest in the history of the circuit. Two Day 1s are planned, and players will begin the tournament with a 20,000 chip starting stack, for 60 minutes level. Each night the casino will ring the €135 Ten O’clock Turbo event, and several NLTH events will kick off during the series, from €200 freezeout and €300 bounty events to €300 6Handed and €360 twoday Deepstack events. Two €100 Supersatellites for the Main Event are also arranged, and cash games will run 24 hours a day during the Open, for an intense half-week of action. So if you have never made it to Riga before, with the Unibet Open, opportunity knocks!

2011 UnIbeT OPen reSULTS malta

Field Buy-in: Prize-pool: 1st mateusz moolhuizen 2d Tobias Peters 3rd Sampo rynanen

Barcelona

293 players €1,650 €417,525 €117,000 €76,000 €49,000.

Field 387 players Buy-in: €1,650 Prize pool €551,500 1st ruben Sanchez cebollada €145,000 2d davor Pavic €90,000 3rd Pimvan riet €60,000.

Dublin

Field: Buy-in: Prize pool: 1st Paul vas Nunes 2d Emil Pedersen 3rd Pim van riet

260 players €1,650 €390,000 €105,300 €66,300 €39,000

how to get there

AirBaltic and Ryanair offer service to Riga from the biggest European cities, while Wizz Air provide flights from London and Oslo. Public buses, Airbaltic Airport Express minibuses, limousines and taxis run between the airport and the Old Town, expect a 30 minutes journey.

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party time EUROPEAN POKER AWARDS

Poker 52 Europa Magazine in collaboration with the Aviation Club de France is pleased to announce the 11th edition of the European Poker Awards!

O

Our readers can now vote online, until the 5th of December 2011, in nine categories to reward the people who have excelled in European Poker during the 2011: • Rookie of the Year • Best Tournament Performance • Europe’s Leading Lady 2011 • Internet Player of the Year • Poker Staff Person of the Year • Rob Gardner Memorial Award for the Poker Personality of 2011 • Player of the Year • There is a new award being presented this 11th edition: the Best Event of the Year, rewarding the most outstanding event by their originality, quality or field • Life time achievement award.

Thanks to your vote, which will be collectively regarded as a full vote equal to one of the 52 members of the nomination panel (players, dealers, casino executives and members of the European poker community), this event will be again a success.

You will be able to learn more about the nomination panel by logging on to our website at Poker52europa.com, where everyone has a picture, a short presentation and eventually a link to their website.

By Antoine Salvi Once the nominees are determined, the Final Judging Panel —consisting of a group of eight people representing both players and management— will gather a few hours before the ceremony at the Aviation Club, in mid-January 2012.

Each year the panel is selected and invited by the organisers.

Prior to discussion as to the winners will be, the members of the panel are asked to do some research on those nominated.

At the final judging, which is held in private, the judges are provided with additional information about the nominees.

They will then discussed the categories and voted upon them one at a time.

The final vote is a secret ballot. The members of the panel write down their choice on a voting slip that cannot be seen by the other members of the panel. The voting slips are passed to an invigilator (appointed by the organisers) who counts the votes. The person with the most votes is the winner. The invigilator will not announce the name at this time – only that a winner has been selected. The name of the winner is then put in a sealed envelope that is not opened until the awards presentation ceremony.

In the event of a tie between two or more nominees the invigilator announces who the tie is between and invites the judges to discuss their choices further. The judges are then asked to revote between those involved in the tie.

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TONY G.

The beST TIPS

CHRONICLE TONY G

On earTh

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I am sitting here writing, looking ahead at the schedule of events I am due to play this year representing PartyPoker. It is true that in recent months I have pulled back from poker somewhat with my commitment to being the boss of the Lithuanian basketball team but I am sharpening up and getting ready to hit the green baize in a major way. Some of you will also know that I have a new keen interest in dancing with the stars Lithuanian style! Shame I wasn’t at the WPT Grand Prix de Paris to pick up tips from mike Sexton – he used to be a professional dancer and it’s the least I deserve after the fine wine tips I’ve been giving him of late!

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France is a hotbed of poker these days Anyway, when you read this I would have reacquainted myself with a certain Mr. Phil Hellmuth and will be full of heart and a healthy profit from crushing his soul in the cash games at WPT Malta. My attention then turns to WPT Amneville. I have never been to Amneville before but I have heard great things about it. On the downside it appears to be in the middle of nowhere, but last year all pros I talked to were raving about the bad players on show there. Perhaps the accommodation and nightlife isn’t like that in a big city but the money making opportunities are huge! Plenty of French, Italians and players from all over Europe – a fish pond. The fact that Amneville is only 90 minutes from Paris and convenient for travel from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands mean players come from everywhere. I was cursing myself that I didn’t go last year – some people say that I could have worn a blindfold and made the money. I am certainly going to make up for it this year. I would be surprised if I am the only player who thinks this way. One man I am sure who will be back is last year’s winner, Sam El Sayed, that man knows a fine cigar when he sees one, something we very much have in common. El Sayed cleaned up in Amneville last year and very nearly took down the WPT Championships too – close but no cigar!

This brings me to something that has been swirling in my head for a while. Say you are a European pro going around the live circuit. Who do you want to play with?

Tables of recognised world beating top pros or a load of unknowns from France and Italy? I don’t think you need me to answer that question – it is obvious which exercise will be the most profitable. If you are shrewd then WPT Amneville is certainly the sort of place you should be going.

I have to hold my hands up and applaud those that run the Casino Municipal D’Amneville for their ambition in bringing a major WPT tournament to their casino and they deserved the record numbers they got last year. I heard the final table had an electric atmosphere, fuelled by the local presence on the final table. In a communication sense they seem to be doing a lot right – they promote their tournament via social media very well. As I have written many times before France is a hotbed of poker these days with all the big tournaments in September but why should we only have the chance to get some decent action one month a year. If you were a big Aussie saltwater crocodile with Lithuanian stripes like me you don’t just feed in one gleeful frenzy – you need a consistent feed! Hopefully my friends the pink panther Mr Guillaume Darcourt and Bruno Fitoussi will be there too so I can own them again.

Arnaud Mattern, yum, yum! Anthony Lellouche – on your bike! ElkY? Are you a real Frenchman?! Levi, Big Roger and No Mercy Mercier – bring it on!

If this isn’t enough I heard they do a bit of line dancing in Northern East France and that Amneville has a nightclub where they do it to house music! A friend of mine told me a story about how Mad Marvin Rettenmaier and some guys ran up a massive bar bill but the card machine didn’t work. With true heart, commitment and trust the owners of the club popped into the casino the next day to get settled up. They had trust, heart and commitment!

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DanIeL neGreanU “Kid Poker”

hOW I WCOOP Since black Friday I played a decent amount of poker at Aria in the mixed games, and of

course, played a full schedule at a disappointing WSoP for me, but I can’t help but admit that I genuinely missed playing online poker, as it had become a passion for me prior to black

Friday. I love the convenience of it, the stats, the number crunching, just the fact that I was learning something new and improving rapidly.

C H R O N I C L E DA N I E L N E G R E A N U

So, in August I went to Toronto, my hometown and took all the necessary steps to relocate so that I could be prepared for the WCOOP series. For any of you who don’t already know, WCOOP stands for World Championship of Online Poker, and it truly is.

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I ended up playing WCOOPs in four different countries in just a three week span. I started my WCOOP in Barcelona, then off to Montenegro, Budapest, and finally, locked myself up in a hotel room in London for the stretch run.

In total, I played 52 of the 62 events and cashed fifteen times, which I think ranked me second in number of cashes during the series: Place Event 768 WCOOP-03: $2fifteen NL Hold’em 107 WCOOP-06: $2fifteen+R NL Hold’em 72 WCOOP-08: $2fifteen Triple Stud 89 WCOOP-11: $320 NL Hold’em 362 WCOOP-14: $265 NL Hold’em 62 WCOOP-25: $2fifteen PL Omaha 95 WCOOP-30: $530 NL Hold’em 4 WCOOP-41: $10,300 NL Hold’em

17 WCOOP-44: $320 NL Hold’em 23 WCOOP-50: $2fifteen NL Hold’em 21 WCOOP-51: $320 PL Omaha H/L 104 WCOOP-52: $320 NL Hold’em 34 WCOOP-53: $530+R NL Hold’em 183 WCOOP-60: $2fifteen NL Hold’em 5 WCOOP-61: $10,300 8-Game I ended up in third place in the race for the WCOOP player of the series: Place Player Country Events Points 1-2 2FLY2TILT Spain 44 295 1-2 Big_Nemo Canada 48 295 3 KidPoker Canada 52 255 4 ImaLuckSac Canada 53 245 5-6 Donald Norway 50 240 5-6 gboro780 Canada 41 240 7 ImaLucSac Canada 53 235 8 goleafsgoeh Canada 49 230 9-10 MiPwnYa Brazil 12 220 9-10 Vingtcent Netherlands 36 220 I actually had a chance to win it all, and my destiny was in my own hands. At the final table of the $10k 8-Game event, if I was able to win, I’d lock up first place. I was so devastated and frustrated with my fifth place finish. I got brutalized by the «Mad Russian» who played insanely aggressive, and frankly, really spewy! Two hands stuck out that drove me a bit bananas: Omaha 8 or better: I raised in first position with AKQ6 he called, as did the small blind. The flop came J-T-4 with two hearts, I bet, and the Russian raised me with A237, no front door or backdoor flush draw. That’s just not a very good play. The turn was a 7 and he bet,

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the river came a 5 so I made a backdoor low and paid him off.

Razz: This one is way worse. I raise with (3-5)8 and he re-raised me with (J-2)4. On fourth street: (3-5)8 T (J-2)4 K I bet and he called. AHHHH! That’s just completely bonkers to call me on fourth street! Anyway, by sixth street: (3-5)8 T 7 4 (J-2)4 K 3 5 I bet, and he raised me again. He ended up catching an Ace on the river and making a wheel. That was a crushing blow to my stack at that stage.

I ended up going broke in the PLO round, something I was really trying to avoid since my edge in the limit games was far bigger, but short stacked, I felt like I didn’t have much of a choice.

J966hhcc for me vs AJT7hh Flop was: T52cc and I shipped less then a pot sized bet and he called. It was a coin flip, but I couldn’t catch and suddenly my WCOOP was over and I was left with a pit in my stomach. I really wanted to win that event.

So the next day I woke up feeling a bit lost. Similar to the WSOP hangover, I was at a loss for what to do, since my daily routine was altered and all I had was time. I vegged most of the day, and today I’m writing this blog here in London. I’m staying, since the EPT London is just days away and I can’t wait to play, especially since I’ve been carving through 2000+ player no limit hold’em fields regularly in WCOOPs. I’ve always been a streaky player, and I always seem to heat up the last few months of the year, from September through December. The WSOPE is next up after EPT London, and I expect to once again play a full series there and fly home with a bracelet...or two. ******* In preparation for this years WCOOP, I did a bit more homework than normal and really planned on taking the events seriously, regardless of the prize pool. I just wanted to win. If I’m being completely honest, my online tournament results have never been very good, and the main reason for that is that I just never really cared too much, but since the WCOOP has become such a prestigious event, I wanted to do the best that I could, which meant preparation.

1. Stats I’ve always been a numbers/stats geek as a child, but applying that to online poker isn’t something I’d done until recently, but I found it really helpful in reading opponents. In the past, I just played pretty ABC and didn’t differentiate between my opponents at all,

since I always found it hard to maintain focus while playing online. Accumulating stats on my opponents, helped immensely.

2. Notes I had my stats program set up a while ago, but somewhere in the middle of the WCOOP I also began taking notes on my opponents based on how they’d play certain hands. The idea came to me while listening to an episode of WCOOP Radio, where one of the more successful online players talked about detailed note taking and how that’s helped him. I realized it was something I should definitely do, so used the PokerStars Notes tab and would write details of any hand I found interesting. Often something as simple as: «UTG R 2 C I 3B B SB 4B all F I jam he folds» In English, «The under the gun player raises, two people call, I three bet from the button, the small blind four bets, everyone else folds, I go all-in, and the small blind folds.» Hey, it makes sense to me, and frankly, that’s all that matters in the end.

Player Research Not until the last few days of WCOOP did I realize that there was plenty of information online that you could find about your opponents. For example, what they’ve won, what tournaments they normally play and how they do overall. I’d type in their online results under the notes tab, then also color code the notes with either «Winning Tourney Player» or «Losing Tourney Player.»

All these tools helped me make better reads in marginal situations. For example, lets say I raised with AJ near the money bubble and a player went all-in on me. First I look at his stats and see that he’s played pretty tight throughout. Then I look at a note that says something like «Checked back QQ 9642 then checked K river» which lets me know he plays a bit on the scared side.

Finally, I look at his online results and notice that he normally plays $8 events and is in the $2fifteen WCOOP, which means that he’s likely to care about cashing as it’s a big buy in for him. What does that all equal up to? An easy fold.

Sleep throughout the events was a concern, since I was in Europe which meant that on some nights I’d be playing until 7am. My original plan was to grind in Toronto, but that changed at some point. Next year, I plan on grinding from Toronto since schedule wise that will allow for the most healthy lifestyle with me not sleeping days and playing nights.

So next on the schedule: EPT London WSOP Europe EPT San Remo Short trip to Las Vegas in early November, then likely going to be at the Air Canada Center in Toronto for a Leaf game on November 5th. After that, I have a few options that I haven’t figured out yet, but when I do, I’ll let y’all know.

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countries I’ve been To

C H R O N I C L E DA N I E L N E G R E A N U

With the center of the poker universe shifting away from the U.S., many serious players have gotten out of dodge and headed to either Canada, Mexico, or various spots across Europe. The term «rounder» at least for Americans, is actually applicable now, even if you are just an online grinder.

It had me thinking about how many countries I’ve actually been in during my life. I’ve been to loads of cities across North America, but as far as actual countries go, the number isn’t as big as I thought it might be, but I assume it’s more than the average American: 1. Australia- been to both Sydney and Melbourne a few times. Shot a cameo in X-MEN Wolverine in Sydney one trip, and another fun group trip for an APPT as well as catching several concerts with friends.

2. Austria- Been to Vienna for a heads up tourney ages ago, then also came fourth in EPT Vienna last year.

3. Bahamas- As long as PokerStars holds their flagship event there, I’ll be in Bahamas every January for, well, the rest of my life...ish.

4. Canada- Um, was born there.

5. Costa Rica- Played an LAPT there, another event ages ago, and had an ex-girlfriend who lived there.

Pura Vida!

6. Fiji- Was there for a few hours but ended up having a blast anyway! Place is gorgeous and I’m definitely planning on making a trip out there again some day.

7. France- First trip was WPT Paris at the Aviation Club. Will never forget that one. Had yet to make a TV final table on WPT, was chip leader for about five hours 7 handed, but they made a weird rule where the blinds would not go up at all. All the short stacks doubled, and I eventually got it all-in versus the eventual winner, David Benyamine on a 742 flop.

I had 74 vs TT. Was a crushing blow at the time.

8. Germany- EPT Dartmond one trip where I slept in on Day 2 for the first time in my life no thanks to my friend Lina Olaofsson saying «One more drink» about fifteen times! Needless to say I didn’t fare well on Day 2. Thanks Lina!!!

9. Neatherlands- I think we were in Amsterdam for all of two days? Evelyn and Lex showed me, Stapes and Amanda around the red light district. I was expecting it to be really dirty and full of less than attractive prostitutes. It wasn’t dirty at all, and the prostitutes didn’t look anything like the ones who hang out in Vegas. So I was surprised on both accounts. Oh, and they also have «coffee houses» where you can legally partake in marijuana or whatever else toots your horn.

10. Hungary- In Budapest now for the first time just getting settled in. Will be doing a PokerStars promo event here, while also WCOOPing as much as possible. Hope to take a few days to see the city also. WCOOPs start around 5pm here so I have all day to roam around.

11. Italy- San Remo was my first trip there and I’ll be going back again this year. I honestly think Italian is the easiest language in the world to learn, along with it’s Latin sister, Spanish, since words sound pretty much how you might think they’d sound.

12. Jamaica- Been there a couple times and it feels like home to me in a bizarre way. Most of my friends growing up were Jamaicans and I’m very familiar with Rasta culture. I also speak the language which often trips out the locals and the people at customs.

13. Japan- Not sure if this counts, but whatever, I was at the airport there in transit from Philippines. I remember a cute little Japanese woman greeting me as I landed after a 14+ hour flight letting me know, «Must run ok?» Then we ran through the airport, me carrying a heavy backpack and feeling so out of shape all I could think was, «I used to run long distance races, damn I need to get back in shape.»

I could barely keep up with the woman, but we did

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make the flight...and I was sore for a couple days.

Pretty lame I know.

14. Isle of Man- I was there to witness history, when EPT creator and all around good guy John Duthie won the first ever poker tournament that was broadcast live on television. The concept was well before it’s time and Duthie played an uber aggressive brand of poker you just didn’t see back then. Oh, and the first night I was there I had beers with Padraig Parkinson and peed my bed that night for the first and last time of my life. When I woke up (wet, I know TMI, TMI) Padraig looked fresh as a daisy and had two pints of Guinness sitting in front of him.

WSOPE there, and also got my first ever EPT cash in London last year.

23. United States- First time I walked the strip in Las Vegas it was clear to me «This is where I belong.»

Since then, I’ve visited loads of US cities, but none matched San Diego in terms of quality of life and options.

More and more I find that being near the beach adds to the quality of your life no matter what you are doing.

There are plenty of countries I’m interested in seeing before I die. A short list includes:

15. Mexico- Been there as part of a cruise and at least one other time that I can remember. Sorry, don’t remember much else!

• Greece • Brazil • Thailand

16. Montenegro- Was just there grinding WCOOP’s while Krisztina played a tournament. Place is gorgeous and the hotel room was top five I’ve stayed in my lifetime. Very nice.

17. Philippines- Was there for an APPT event in the midst of a long journey away from home. Golfed one day, and other than that pretty much stuck to the casino.

18. Portugal- Was there last year for EPT Villamoura and actually won the Golf/Poker event no thanks to my golf skills! It was a small tourney and lots of fun.

• Israel • South Korea There is an EPT event in Greece this November but I don’t think I’ll make it out there unfortunantly. Brazil I’ll make it to eventually, poker is continuing to boom there and I should definitely make an appearance at some point.

Thailand, I hear, is beautiful and one of my good friends is Thai so he could show us around. Israel is

19. Romania- Was there when I was ten years old and stayed for a month. Absolutely loved my experience there as a child, and finally went back last year for a mini media tour. We were only there for three days but I’d like to definitely go back at some point.

a must for me. My two best friends from high school,

20. Spain- Barcelona is my favorite stop in Europe and I attend the EPT there every year. Right on the beach, just a great atmosphere. I was also in Madrid this year for the EPT Grand Final, but it was a quick in and out trip and I didn’t see much of it at all.

read about that I imagine would only sink in if I saw

21. Sweden- Was there for a few days to do a fun commercial with former Toronto Maple Leafs captain, Mats Sundin. Sundin is a great guy and we talked lots of hockey. If I ever get a spare 100 or 200 million and buy an NHL team, I’d hire Mats to work with the team, we saw eye to eye on literally everything.

club. I won’t be going there to play, most likely to drink

22. Switzerland- Not sure if this counts either, but when I went to Romania as a kid we had a layover in Switzerland. It was awesome to me at the time, the idea of being in a different country with a different language, even though we never left the airport.

isn’t sharp enough to carry me on my own. They don’t

23. England- I actually enjoy London, especially the food options available to vegans in the city. Doesn’t hurt that I’ve always had a lot of success at the

more like bothers really, are Israeli and spending weekends at there place most weekends allowed me to pick up a decent amount of Hebrew. There is so much I’d want to see in Israel, so much history, so much I’ve it in the flesh.

One of my other best friends moved back to South Korea and it would be fun to visit him and see him again. He actually moved there to help run a poker beer and sing Karaoke horribly!

Being in Budapest is a bit surreal. Normally I’m completely independent no matter where I go, but not much English is spoken here and my Hungarian take Euro, so Krisztina is essentially my sugar momma while here, paying for everything! I’m not sure exactly how long I’ll be here, but my next stop will be EPT London. Some really big WCOOPs on the way this coming week. I’ve had six cashes so far in 22 events, but haven’t been able to run good lately and make a final table. I will, and I’ll bet on it!

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SamI “LarsLuzak”KeLOPUrO

BaCK tO HOmEland

CHRONICLE SAMI KELOPURO

my trip is over, I came back to Finland yesterday. Six tournaments, zero cashes. Not what I was hoping for, but since just over 10% of players cash it’s nothing shocking. variance is insanly high in tournaments, and I guess my style of play aims more to the higher positions than just a minicash. I was all-in just seven times in the six tourmaments. The only one I won was in monte carlo High roller when I moved all-in from the small blind again the big blind for 11bb with QTo and was called by A4o.

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From the MC Main Event I busted in the end of Day 1 with bottom two pair against top set. From the MC High Roller I busted with AKo against AQo, a pre-flop all-in when there was 6 players left (17 total, 4 to the money). The flop was a nice K52, but AQ backdoored a flush.

From the San Remo Main Event I busted with QQ against AT with a flush draw when we put it in on 367 flop. This was the end of Day 1 and I was pretty short stacked.

I didn’t have much of a stack at any point in the San Remo High Roller and I busted with AJo early on Day 2 when I 3-bet cut off opener from the button leaving just about the pot behind. He called and lead all-in on 245 flop with a flush draw, I called. He had KQ with the flush draw. The flush came on the turn, but I had a redraw for ace high flush... missed.

The High Roller was before the Main Event in Madrid. I had a good start, 120k very early in the tournament (50k starting stack). My stack stayed pretty much the same size for the rest of the day and I started Day 2 with 122k.

I had it up to 184k after a few hours of play, but then I started losing. First it was folded to my small blind, and there was a tight Russian on the big blind. I decided to raise no matter what I had, but actually looked down at a decent hand: QTo. I made it 5500 on 1000/2000, and he called. The flop was Q95 with a flush draw. I C-bet 7500, and he miniraises to 15k. I didn’t like that at all, but since he had 50k total left, I had to move in.

He called with his slowplayed aces and I

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I can’t complain about my run in the SCOOP Main Event lost. A little bit after that my stack was down to 70-75k, and I was on the button when Humberto Brenes opened from cut off. I had AKo and I 3-bet. He moved in (a few K more than my stack) and I called. I was 3-betting a lot, so even a tight player like him could be (at least should be) moving in relatively light there. I opened my hand and he asked me «You call with that?» and flipped over the same hand: AKo. The flop came with 3 hearts, and he had the A of H (I had the K of H), and the fourth heart came on the river.

Thats pretty sick... you get 12% with 27o with against AA, but this is over 97% split. Obv you’re getting no more profit then the blinds when you split, but still in a way this is the sickest beat of all the pre-flop all-ins.

I had a pretty good Day 1 in the Main Event. 94k to Day 2, avg was a little over 60k. Day 2 started even better, and actually I had my best two hours ever in a tournament in the halfway of the day.

I cracked aces with Q7s, I called from small blind and the board came out QQ435, the opponent checked the flop behind and I bet the turn and the river and he called me down. Then I busted two short stacks, first 88 v A9, second AA v KK. I was up to 260k and then I was moved to another table. Surpsisingly there was a 3 stacks besides me between 220k and 320k. The average was around 135k, so there was probably the most chips in the entire tournament on this table. I had about 220-225k when the following sick hand was dealt: the button opened (a tight older guy with about 220k in chips) to 5600, I had AQs in the small blind, I made it 15,600. Kristoffer «Sumpas» Thorsson in the big blind (found out the name later, but I had seen him around though) raised to 36k. The button said «OK, I give up». Sumpas seemed really active at the table, there was just a hand before where he raised the button and BB 3-bet and he called. BB C-bet 30k something and Sumpas raised to 74k, BB moved in and Sumpas instafolded. Nothing speacial there, but just shows that he is capable of making big moves. So folding was not an option for me, although I wanted to take it down pre-flop. I thought there is not really space for a 5-bet smaller than all-in, so I just moved in. I could’ve maybe made a miniraise to 72k, hoping that he goes all-in with worse maybe, but unless he has a smaller ace I don’t really want him to do that. I don’t want to be against, I dunno... lets say 9Ts at that point of the tournament for the whole stack. It was getting close to the money bubble and I had a good stack. He snap called me and I thought that must be really bad news for me, but he flipped over TT. The flop came 678, no help for me.

2s on the turn gave me a flush but the river didn’t get me there.

Very sick pot... I think he was the chipleader after this.

I could’ve just called the 36k, but it would’ve been too hard to play it out of position. I think he is folding pretty often to my all-in, but my push is not a bluff so I dunno... it’s a tricky spot. I just felt like folding was too weak, and I still definitely think so. 72k raise would be an option, but I don’t really like it. I really don’t want to take a flip for the chiplead or bust there, but I think I did what I had to do. He has to be making a move there a lot of the time.

Better luck next time, right... The EPT season is over, so I’m not sure if there is much live action before the WSOP. I’m running really

bad online again, shitloads under EV over the last ten days. I think I’ll try some SCOOP, see how that works out for me.

I was supposed to blog about the SCOOP win earlier, but I was busy and tired a few days after and then things started to go bad in the cash games. I was 205k under EV at the worst point after the tournament win. I wanted to make this a happy blog (partly because the million-making-robot Jens Kyllönen told me not to moan about being unlucky anymore) so I had to wait for the downswing to end.

Yesterday was a very good day at the tables and I ran really good.

I won 88k at Stars (mostly 25/50 PLO) and did nicely on other sites as well (maybe 60k over EV altogether). Today I played a little session and won some more, which is nice.

Definitely can’t complain the run in the SCOOP Main Event.

Obviously you do need to win most of the big flips/pots in order to go really deep in any tournament. I think I was all-in like 6-8 times throughout the tournament, at least half of them being flips.

The only bad suckout was in the Final Table when I 3-bet with 9Ts and a semi-short-stack moved in behind me. I think I had about 135k more to call when there was 300k in the pot. It’s a very close decision, not sure if it was correct to call but I did it. I was up against QQ and made a sick runner runner straight to bust him out. But I would’ve been close to the average even if I had lost it, which still would leave with me a chance to win the tournament. I was hoping to see AK or AQ type of hand or pockets up to 99, but I guess he has high pockets there a lot of the time.

We made a deal 5-handed which I think was ok for me. I was second in chips at the time so I got 454k. Fifth spot paid about 215k, so I thought the difference between 215k and 454k/504k feels much bigger than 454k/504k and 700k. I would’ve made about the same coming second without a deal, so pretty much would’ve had to win it then to get more. None of the players were bad so why not make a deal there. Second of all it made the win easier. StigR started gambling right after the deal (he wanted to flip for the win when the play resumed 5 handed, but that was not an option for me).

He put the money in twice with just a flush draw, which probably wouldn’t had happened if the deal wasn’t made. And because I was second in chips I had much better than average chance at the point to win the tournament.

I felt like I had the HU under control from the start but I think I ran a bit bad and Tagult just wouldn’t bust no matter what I did. I had to suckout AQ v KK to win when we were about even. This is of course a set up with 40bb stacks and a lot of 3-betting going on.

Overall I’m happy with the way I played the whole tournament and I feel like I deserved to run good this one time after a horrible run for a long time in both cash games and tournaments.

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STraTeGy

HIGH ROLLER

brUnO “KInG” FITOUSSI

a GOOD CaLL

W

Enter the mind of bruno “King” Fitoussi whilst playing a hand, and follow his analysis “in the tank”. For this issue, let’s go back in time, to the EPT deauville, earlier this year, during the 10k high-roller tournament…

We are now playing level 2 of this tournament, blinds 100/200, and the field involved in this high-roller competition is very heterogeneous: some of the best players in the world as well as satellite players and some rich amateurs. At my table, an Aviation Club regular player, Jonathan Layani, but also ElkY, Stephane Albertini (who made a deep-run this summer at WSOP Main Event) and the reigning world champion, Jonathan Duhamel. “Some live pros, only”, jokes ElkY, whilst sitting down. I already have quite a nice stack, increased by 50%, with 45,000 chips.

Seat 2 : Bruno Fitoussi 45,000

Jonathan Layani is already short stack, with 15,000 chips and is UTG+2. Pre-flop, he opens to 525. Everyone folds, until the SB, a very loose French amateur, who decides to call. I have the BB, and I discover a pair of Kings. I re-raise to 2,000: I am the chip leader, playing very aggressively since the beginning, and my range is thus very large. Layani calls, thinking maybe that I want to squeeze with a marginal hand. The SB also calls, very quickly.

6

7

8

Flop is

Seat 5 : Jonathan Layani 15,000

Seat 1 : Amateur 40,000

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EPT DEAUVILLE HIGH-ROLLER 10 000$ / 58 PLAYERS ON 58 PLAYERS REGISTERE AVERAGE

STARTING STACK: 30 000 CHIPS

DAY 1, LEVEL 2

BLINDS : 100-200

LEVEL 7, DAY 1

BIG BLIND

POSITION

UTG

HAND

The SB checks and I check as well. This flop is very connected, with a flush and a straight draw. It is potentially very dangerous but it can also help to build up a very big pot! My two opponents are keen on gambling this one with a draw and I want to see how Layani bets this pot, as well as the amateur’s reaction. If Layani bets and the amateur just calls, I will reraise them because I think that, at this point, I have the best hand and I am ready to risk the 15,000 chips Layani has.

Layani fires 3250, pretty quicly.

The amateur, who has 40,000, tries to raise him, but fails by doing a wrong amount, and he thus finally calls. I decide to just call, waiting for the turn to unveil.

Turn is a Jack of diamond It is quite a good card for me. The SB donk-bets 3,000 in a 15,750 chips pot!

These types of amateur are always very hard to read and I feel a little bit of anguish. Layani, who had bet the flop, only has 10k left. The SB can have any

K

K

type of hands : maybe he has hit trips or a double pair ? Though, I think he has a “combo hand”, like straight draw or flush draw with a pair, like 8-9 for example. I call his bet and Layani folds after a long delay.

Now the pot is real big: 21,750!

2

River is a brick: SB bets 5 500.

I think for a long time: even if his bet is quite small —25% of the pot—, I do not want to lose 5,500 without analyzing the hand. It seems that he value-bets his hand but the odds are so sweet and maybe the player thinks I was on a draw and he wants to bluff me with a fake value-bet… I finally calls and he can only show a missed raw with As-10 offsuit. Now I have 60,000 chips and I am the chip leader!

Unfortunately for me, the final winner of this competition will be the reigning champion, Jonathan Duhamel…

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ranKInG

2011 euRoPean PoKeR RanKinG

FROm Jan. 1st 2011 tO OCt. 15tH 2011 Who can beat Sam Trickett? The young English pro has once again cashed in tournaments and definitely seems out of reach of any players, except maybe the likes of ElkY or Katchalov who would be able to surpass him if they have a good WSoPE performance and take down a bracelet. Tricket is still at the November PPT Final Table and has the chiplead... Fabrice Soulier is back at 15th place, thanks to his Epic Poker League 3rd place, which secured him an extra $300,000.

Sam Trickett

Ranking

Country

Bertrand «Elky» Grospellier

Eugène Katchalov

Player

Winnings (USd)

Ranking

Country

Player

Winnings (USd)

1

Sam Trickett

3,117,647

16

James Keys

2

Eugene Katchalov

2,514,282

17

Alessio Isaia

971,079

3

bertrand Grospellier

2,087,763

18

Tony bloom

964,296

4

Anton Ionel

1,813,273

19

Jake cody

950,791

5

max Heinzelmann

1,640,961

20

mikhail Lakhitov

907,648

6

max Lykov

1,606,780

21

Tamas Lendvai

890,879

7

david benyamine

1,495,699

22

Heinz Pius

890,541

8

rupert Elder

1,456,500

23

Sami Kelopuro

855,230

9

Lucien cohen

1,394,310

24

Eoghan o'dea

836,864

10

Torsten brinkmann

1,360,928

25

carlos mortensen

834,306

11

martin Jacobson

1,325,292

26

Antonin Teisseire

831,655

12

martin Schleich

1,245,687

27

martin Staszko

811,905

13

chris moorman

1,224,545

28

Niall Smyth

794,580

14

oleksii Kovalchuk

1,142,943

29

Sam Holden

787,900

15

Fabrice Soulier

1,057,215

30

Anton makiievskiy

1,040,676

782,115

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Ranking

Country

Player

Winnings (USD)

Ranking

Country

Player

Winnings (USD)

31

Hasan Alexander Anter

779,019

66

Eros Nastasi

382,535

32

Dmitry Gromov

771,856

67

Dominik Nitsche

382,105

33

Dragan Kostic

766,438

68

Sadan Turker

382,052

34

Yevgeniy Timoshenko

745,326

69

Thorsten Schafer

381,044

35

Marvin Guido Rettenmaier

738,929

70

John Shipley

369,575

36

Michael Tureniec

731,893

71

Ronan Collet

363,306

37

Alexander Kuzmin

727,577

72

Samad Razavi

358,822

38

Juha Helppi

726,468

73

Julien Claudepierre

353,871

39

Philipp Gruissem

675,829

74

Raul Mestre

351,524

40

Andrey Danilyuk

669,333

75

Alexander Kostritsyn

345,621

41

Vladimir Geshkenbein

626,494

76

Aleksandr Mozhnyakov

345,312

42

Benjamin Spindler

623,985

77

Grzegorz Cichocki

340,203

43

Per Linde

613,258

78

Richard Ashby

336,203

44

Vadim Kursevich

573,509

79

Tom Middleton

335,822

45

Vadim Shlez

555,066

80

Francesco De Vivo

334,888

46

Juan Maceiras Lapido Jr.

549,282

81

Natalya Nikitina

332,624

47

Hugo Lemaire

548,324

82

Lukas Berglund

327,546

48

Maksim Kolosov

526,042

83

Alexander Debus

326,688

49

Lars Bonding

508,315

84

Roger Hairabedian

323,721

50

Surinder Sunar

507,211

85

Tomeu Gomila

321,927

51

Govert Metaal

502,185

86

Guillaume Darcourt

317,765

52

Kevin Vandersmissen

497,863

87

Erich Kollmann

317,574

53

Vyacheslav Zhukov

492,319

88

Dimitry Stelmak

313,678

54

Pieter-Michael De Goede

489,998

89

Luca Pagano

310,616

55

William Thorson

482,645

90

Alexandre Brivot

307,585

56

Mustapha Kanit

480,158

91

Szabolcs Mayer

305,610

57

Andrey Pateychuk

478,174

92

Frederic Magen

304,481

58

John Paul Kelly

464,871

93

Domenico Cordi

302,937

59

Ronny Kaiser

457,238

94

Simon Ravnsbaek

302,001

60

Roberto Romanello

456,445

95

David Sonelin

299,515

61

David Vamplew

448,997

96

Nikolay Evdakov

297,507

62

Julian Kabitzke

433,407

97

Massimiliano Martinez

297,404

63

Sebastian Ruthenberg

428,171

98

Kaspars Renga

297,235

64

John Eames

396,348

99

Elie Payan

295,432

65

Andrey Zaichenko

386,256

100

Warren Wooldridge

291,326

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all timE mOnEy list - EUROPE What will become the ex-Full Tilt pros ? Some of the top-notch All Time money List players are from this roaster (like mortensen, Hansen or benyamine) and only few of them can be now seen in poker tournaments, despite the recent legal issues solved by the AGcc and the doJ. Peter Eastgate, with his big main Event win couple years ago, is still on top, quite far away from Katchalov and ElkY who still are the most active players nowadays.

Peter Eastgate

Ranking

Country

Carlos Mortensen

Player

Winnings (USd)

Gus Hansen

Ranking

Country

Player

Winnings (USd)

1

Peter Eastgate

10,918,443

16

vitaly Lunkin

4,193,669

2

carlos mortensen

10,765,799

17

Juha Helppi

4,028,600

3

Gus Hansen

9,386,494

18

marcel Luske

3,939,416

4

bertrand Grospellier

8,437,746

19

Antoine Saout

3,863,435

5

Eugene Katchalov

6,943,449

20

marty Smyth

3,819,875

6

Ivan demidov

6,751,371

21

Alexander Kravchenko

3,742,074

7

david benyamine

6,155,573

22

Annette obrestad

3,703,471

8

dave Ulliott

6,003,453

23

Fabrice Soulier

3,589,802

9

roland de Wolfe

5,330,556

24

ram vaswani

3,476,778

10

chris bjorin

5,094,404

25

Sebastian ruthenberg

3,443,118

11

Sam Trickett

4,823,706

26

Filippo candio

3,398,535

12

Jeff Lisandro

4,785,971

27

martin de Knijff

3,372,383

13

Surinder Sunar

4,569,126

28

Tony bloom

3,308,051

14

Andy black

4,379,146

29

Pieter de-Korver

3,286,001

15

Yevgeniy Timoshenko

4,212,113

30

Patrik Antonius

3,263,243

Find more at www.poker52europa.com 78 ISSUE 2 // NovEmbEr-dEcEmbEr 2011 // POKER 52 auropa

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top ten

all time money list Ranking

Player

Italy

United Kingdom

Winnings (USD)

Ranking

Player

Winnings (USD)

1

Jeff Lisandro

4,785,971

1

Dave Ulliott

6,003,453

2

Filippo Candio

3,398,535

2

Roland de Wolfe

5,330,556

3

Max Pescatori

3,158,344

3

Sam Trickett

4,823,706

4

Salvatore Bonavena

2,133,041

4

Surinder Sunar

4,569,126

5

Alessio Isaia

1,899,497

5

Ram Vaswani

3,476,778

6

Luca Pagano

1,863,704

6

Tony Bloom

3,308,051

7

Dario Minieri

1,856,098

7

John Gale

3,252,551

8

Dario Alioto

1,367,518

8

James Akenhead

2,993,714

9

Gianni Giaroni

1,111,616

9

Mark Teltscher

2,933,941

10

Gino Alacqua

1,047,956

10

Neil Channing

2,909,504

Ranking

Player

Spain

Player

Germany

Winnings (USD)

Ranking

10,765,799

1

Sebastian Ruthenberg

3,443,118

Winnings (USD)

1

Carlos Mortensen

2

Raul Paez Corral

1,542,137

2

Tobias Reinkemeier

2,229,337

3

Dragan Kostic

780,615

3

Andreas Krause

2,228,884

4

JesĂşs Cortes Lizano

775,900

4

Moritz Kranich

2,169,062

5

Leonor Margets-Perez

672,266

5

Florian Langmann

1,986,364

6

Santiago Terrazas

651,405

6

Benjamin Spindler

1,962,683

7

Raul Mestre

613,598

7

Sandra Naujoks

1,692,996

8

Tomeu Gomila

546,662

8

Max Heinzelmann

1,674,632

9

Oscar Blanco Carrasco

510,534

9

Torsten Brinkmann

1,422,785

10

Ruben Velasco Merino

451,519

10

Marco Sander

1,383,759

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ranKInG Ranking

Player

RUssia Winnings (USd)

Ranking

Player

dEnmaRK Winnings (USd)

1

Ivan demidov

6,751,371

1

Peter Eastgate

10,918,443

2

vitaly Lunkin

4,193,669

2

Gus Hansen

9,386,494

3

Alexander Kravchenko

3,742,074

3

Theo Jørgensen

2,856,998

4

Alexander Kostritsyn

2,907,613

4

rehne Pedersen

2,299,640

5

max Lykov

2,583,844

5

Jan Sorensen

2,107,963

6

dmitry Gromov

1,519,319

6

Søren Kongsgaard Nielsen

1,988,594

7

vladimir Schemelev

1,433,113

7

Lars bonding

1,811,259

8

Konstantin Puchkov

1,341,843

8

Sander Lyloff

1,712,552

9

mikhail Tulchinskiy

1,203,695

9

Frederik brink Jensen

1,445,057

10

Stanislav Alekhin

1,173,955

10

rene mouritsen

1,402,834

Ranking

Player

sWEdEn Winnings (USd)

Ranking

Player

nORWay Winnings (USd)

1

chris bjorin

5,094,404

1

Annette obrestad

3,703,471

2

martin de Knijff

3,372,383

2

Jan olav Sjavik

1,839,863

3

William Thorson

3,254,188

3

Trond Eidsvig

1,623,879

4

Johan Storakers

2,968,257

4

Andreas Hoivold

1,589,017

5

Erik marcus Friberg

2,751,068

5

dag martin mikkelsen

1,469,999

6

michael Tureniec

2,641,874

6

Andreas Walnum

1,197,518

7

martin Jacobson

2,637,088

7

bjorn-Erik Glenne

1,092,588

8

christer Johansson

2,161,275

8

Kristian Kjondal

1,057,150

9

Nichlas mattsson

1,510,929

9

Johnny Lodden

967,650

10

Ken Lennaard

1,500,653

10

marcel bjerkmann

941,651

Ranking

Player

iREland Winnings (USd)

Ranking

Player

FRanCE Winnings (USd)

1

Andy black

4,379,146

1

bertrand Grospellier

8,437,746

2

marty Smyth

3,819,875

2

david benyamine

6,155,573

3

Padraig Parkinson

1,622,260

3

Antoine Saout

3,863,435

4

Eoghan o’dea

1,546,528

4

Fabrice Soulier

3,589,802

5

Fintan Gavin

1,396,124

5

roger Hairabedian

2,715,272

6

John magill

1,207,856

6

Antony Lellouche

2,513,349

7

Noel Furlong

1,145,807

7

Jean-Paul Pierre Pasqualini

2,426,724

8

Liam Flood

1,142,446

8

bruno Fitoussi

2,416,651

9

donnacha o’dea

1,137,412

9

Alain roy

2,164,573

10

ciaran o’Leary

954,952

10

Ludovic Lacay

1,959,382

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touRnament sCheDule noVemBeR

27 Sep - 1 Nov 2011 Grand Casino Belgrade Festival, Belgrade 10 oct - 1 Nov 2011 2011 World Poker Finals, Mashantucket 21 oct - 3 Nov 2011 2011 CAPT European Poker Championship/ Poker EM, Baden 21 oct - 7 Nov 2011 2011 Caesars Palace Classic, Las Vegas 24 oct - 2 Nov 2011 Russian Poker Tour - Kiev 26 oct - 14 Nov 2011 Rock and Roll Poker Open, Hollywood 27 oct - 6 Nov 2011 2011 Hard Rock Poker Open, Tulsa oct - Nov 2011 WSOP Circuit - Biloxi 29 oct - 6 Nov 2011 London Calling, London 30 oct - 6 Nov 2011 2011 Heartland Poker Tour - Tama Nov 2011 European Masters of Poker III - Final,Unknown Nov 2011 Brazil Poker Tour - Grand Finale, Unknown Nov 2011 Eureka Bucharest, Unknown 1 - 6 Nov 2011 WPT Amneville, Amnéville 1 - 7 Nov 2011 CPS Montenegro, Becici 2 - 13 Nov 2011 Fall Poker Round-Up, Pendleton 2 - 20 Nov 2011 2011 LA Poker Open, Los Angeles 3 - 6 Nov 2011 Soldeverde Season 2011, Vilamoura 3 - 6 Nov 2011 2011 Chilipoker Deepstack Open - Vienna 3 - 8 Nov 2011 Mini WSOP, Dublin 4 - 5 Nov 2011 Baden-Württembergische Poker Cup 2011, Baden-Baden 4 - 6 Nov 2011 DTD Monthly Deepstack, Nottingham 4 - 6 Nov 2011 High Limit Turniere 2011, Baden 5 - 6 Nov 2011 The Halloween Deepstack, Chaudfontaine 5 - 6 Nov 2011 Marbella Poker Classic, Marbella 5 - 12 Nov 2011 Master Classics of Poker 2011, Amsterdam 6 - 13 Nov 2011 2011 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour - Leg 6, Blackpool 7 Nov 2011 Palm Beach Big Game, London 7 - 12 Nov 2011 Baltic Winter Festival, Tallinn 8 - 14 Nov 2011 APT - Asian Series Goa, Goa 9 Nov 2011 2011 Great Blue Heron Casino Fall Classic, Port Perry 9 - 10 Nov 2011 Ceska Pokerova Tour 2011, Prague 10 - 13 Nov 2011 Shark Bay - Big Cup 2011, Nova Gorica

10 - 21 Nov 2011 WSOP Circuit - Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe 11 - 20 Nov 2011 Hold’Em Series Aviation Club de France, Paris 11 - 13 Nov 2011 Betfair Poker Live! Costa Brava, Lloret de Mar 14 - 22 Nov 2011 2011 Merit Autumn Classic, Kyrenia 15 - 20 Nov 2011 EPT - Loutraki 15 - 20 Nov 2011 2011 Heartland Poker Tour - Championship, Mount Pleasant 17 - 19 Nov 2011 2011 Poker Autumn Challenge, Innsbruck 17 - 20 Nov 2011 English Short-Handed Poker Championships, Luton 17 - 20 Nov 2011 2011 Campeonato Espana De Poker San Sebastian, San Sebastian 17 - 20 Nov 2011 Sarajevo November Challenge 2011, Sarajevo 17 - 27 Nov 2011 APPT - Macau, Macau 18 - 20 Nov 2011 Black Belt Nottingham Live, Nottingham 18 - 22 Nov 2011 WPT Jacksonville, Orange Park 19 Nov 2011 Autumn Riches, Oceanside 19 - 21 Nov 2011 APAT - American Amateur Poker Championship - Las Vegas 19 - 26 Nov 2011 Czech Poker Festival, Prague 20 Nov 2011 Big Turkey Tourney, Columbus 21 - 27 Nov 2011 2011 Highroller Week, Seefeld 21 Nov - 4 dec 2011 2011 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour - Grand Final, London 23 Nov 2011 2011 Great Blue Heron Casino Fall Classic, Port Perry 23 - 27 Nov 2011 Paradise Poker Tour 3 - Barcelona 23 - 30 Nov 2011 St. Maarten Open, St. Maarten 24 - 27 Nov 2011 WPT Marrakech, Marrakech 24 - 28 Nov 2011 IPT Campione II, Cassin 26 Nov 2011 2011 PokerPlayer UK Tour - Grand Final, Birmingham

DeCemBeR

21 Nov - 4 dec 2011 2011 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour - Grand Final, London dec 2011 Belgian Poker Series - 3, Unknown 1 dec 2011 APPT - Philippines (TBC), Unknown 1 - 4 dec 2011 Unibet Open Riga, Riga 1 - 4 dec 2011 Austrian Short-Handed Poker Championships, Vienna

1 - 11 dec 2011 Prague Poker Festival, Prague 1 - 12 dec 2011 WSOP Circuit - Atlantic City, Atlantic City 1 - 13 dec 2011 Swiss Poker Champions Week, Baden 2 - 4 dec 2011 DTD Monthly Deepstack, Nottingham 2 - 4 dec 2011 5 Stadte Poker Festival, Salzburg 3 - 4 dec 2011 As D’or Deepstack, SPA 3 - 4 dec 2011 The Winter Deepstack, Chaudfontaine 3 - 11 dec 2011 Mega Stack Challenge XXII, Mashantucket 5 dec 2011 Palm Beach Big Game, London 5 - 10 dec 2011 Eureka Prague, Unknown 5 - 10 dec 2011 EPT Prague, Prague 5 - 11 dec 2011 2011 Christmas Cracker, Brighton 5 - 13 dec 2011 2011 Merit Holiday Poker Series, Kyrenia 7 - 11 dec 2011 Soldeverde Season 2011, Oporto 7 - 11 dec 2011 B.O. Super Poker Classic, Bad Oeynhausen 7 - 12 dec 2011 2011 Minnesota State Poker Tour, Shakopee 7 - 12 dec 2011 Kings Casino €500,000 Guaranteed Tournament, Rozvadov 7 dec 2011 - 12 dec 2012 Manny Pacquiao World Poker Event, Manila 8 - 11 dec 2011 2011 Campeonato Espana De Poker Gran Final - Barcelona 9 - 18 dec 2011 2011-12 Epic Poker League - Event 3, Las Vegas 10 dec 2011 Sky Poker Tour - Leg 2, Newcastle 10 - 11 dec 2011 Marbella Poker Classic, Marbella 10 - 11 dec 2011 APAT Masters/Pro AM, Unknown 10 - 15 dec 2011 2011 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Las Vegas 11 - 18 dec 2011 2011 Aruba Poker Open, Palm Beach 14 dec 2011 2011 Great Blue Heron Casino Fall Classic, Port Perry 15 - 18 dec 2011 2011 Advent Poker Masters, Seefeld 15 - 18 dec 2011 2011 Chilipoker Deepstack Winter Open Marrakech, Marrakech 16 - 18 dec 2011 Celebrity Poker Tour - Final Freeroll, Prague 17 dec 2011 5 Stadte Poker Festival - Final Freeroll, Prague 21 dec 2011 2011 Great Blue Heron Casino Fall Classic, Port Perry

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distRiBUtiOn DISTRIBUTION POINT regency casino Tirana Pokertreff Linz Pokerclub Kufstein Poker royale Poker royale Poker casino bregenz montesino Poker club Graz montesino concord card casinos Salzburg concord card casino concord card casino concord card casino concord card casino concord card casino concord card casino concord card casino concord card casino club Hotel Pascha city Poker casinos Austria baden casino Wien casino velden casino Seefeld casino Salzburg casino royal casino Kleinwalsertal casino Kitbuhel casino Innsbruck casino Innsbruck casino Graz casino bregenz casino badgastein Poker Liege m.Pokerspa casino oostende casino de Spa casino de Namur Grand Hotel & casino casino royal casino cezar American chance casino merit crystal cove Hotel Spearment casino PokerclubLive Poker club Live Pavel Skopek Hotel bobycentrum casino Praha casino Atrium Hilton banco casino card casino Prague royal Scandinavian casino river club Kalundborg Pokerklub dansk Poker Forbund casino odense K/S casino munkebjerg vejle casino marienlyst casino copenhagen casino Aalborg dusk till dawn cardroom ALEA Gala regency casino Gala regency casino Wrcc manhattan club The Suited club@ The Ivory The regency club The Empire casino Tc Poker The Sports bar Stanley Wirral casino Stanley Newcastle casino Stanley casino Stanley Albion casino Simon Stocken Shaftesbury casino (Poker room) S.E. Svendsen river card club Plymouth Grand casino Norwich Poker club Napoleons casino Leeds Napoleons casino 30 Napoleon’s casino maxims casino

town tirana linz Kufstein wr.neustadt liezen Bregenz Graz Vienna salzburg linz st.Polten Graz Feldbach Dornbirn leoben Vienna innsbruck salzburg wien Baden Vienna Velden seefeld in tirol salzburg innsbruck Klienwalsertal Kitzbuhel innsbruck innsbruck Graz Bregenz Badgastein liege ( wandre) spa oostende spa namur Varna Zagreb Zagreb Podstrana-split Praha 8 Brno liberec Plzen Brno Praha 1 Praha 8 Praha 1 Praha 5 aarhus Valby Kalundborg Charlottenlund odense C Vejle helsinger Copenhagen aalborg lenton nottingham nottingham Bournemouth harrogate london london london Farnborough newcastle-upon-tyne Derby salford Doncaster Birmingham lincs london Plymouth norwich leeds Bradford Kingston upon hull Birmingham

COUNTRY Albania Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Austria Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Croatia Croatia Cyprus Czech Rep. Czech Rep. Czech Rep. Czech Rep. Czech Rep. Czech Rep. Czech Rep. Czech Rep. Czech Rep. Denmark Denmark Denmark Denmark Denmark Denmark Denmark Denmark Denmark England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England

DISTRIBUTION POINT Loose canon Sports bar Ladbrokes eGaming Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Gala regency casino 20 Gala regency casino Gala regency casino Gala casino Leeds Gala casino Gala casino Equal chance club circus casino Star city china Palace Annabelles Stanley casino Alea casino Westcliff casino The Western club The Sportsman casino The Isle casinos Ltd The Poker club Tcs Sports club Stanley Southport casino Stanley circus casino Stanley casino Stanley casino Stanley bristol casino rubicon casino rendezvous casino @The Kursal rendezvous casino reading Sporting club Qstix Snooker room Pokernitez Palm beach casino oriel House opera House casino Napoleons casino Hillsborough Napoleons casino Eccleshall maxims casino club masino Gaming manchester casino International club High Stakes bookshop Hastings Terrace club Hastings Terrace club Harbour House casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Grosevenor victoria casino Gala casino Teeside Gala casino barracuda Gala casino Full House club Fox Pokerclub drummond central Ltd circus casino castle Hill casino club broadway casino big bluff Aspers casino olympic casino classic casino casino mapau Pokermarketti Poker Saloon Helsinki Grand casino Helsinki casino PAF monte-carlo Sun casino casino de monaco Spielcasino Aachen Spielbank Wiesbaden Spielbank Trier Spielbank Schenefeld Spielbank Potsdam

town london harrow, middx Plymouth salford Bournemouth leeds stockport leeds liverpool Bristol london Birmingham Birmingham Coventry leeds westcliff on sea london london Coventry london Berks stoke-on-trent southampton Coventry Bristol wolverhampton southend on sea Brighton Reading london wokingham london Portsmouth scarborough sheffield sheffield london Chester manchester london london hastings hastings southampton Blackpool leeds stoke-on-trent, staffs sheffield luton Brighton newcastle upon tyne Bentley leeds Bolton southampton london stockton on tees london wolverhampton surrey london newcastle upon tyne manchester Dudley Birmingham london newcastle upon tyne tallinn tallinn tallinn tampere helsinki helsinki mariehamn monaco monaco aachen wiesbaden trier schenefeld Potsdam

COUNTRY England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England England Estonia Estonia Estonia Finland Finland Finland Finland France France Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany

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DISTRIBUTION POINT Spielbank osnabruck Spielbank Neuenahr -Ahrweller Spielbank mainz Spielbank Lindau Spielbank Konstanz Spielbank Hohensyburg Spielbank Hanover Spielbank Hamburg Spielbank Garmisch-Partenkirch Spielbank berlin Spielbank baden-baden Spielbank bad Wiessee Spielbank bad reichenhall Spielbank bad Kissingen Spielbank bad Homburg Spielbank bad Harzburg Spielbank bad Ems Spielbank bad bentheim Spielbank bad Zwischenahn Sielbank Saarbrucken Pokerclub bad beat berlin e.v Kupferkessel Nattheim deutscher Poker Sport verbande.v casino Westerland casino Travemunde casino Schloss berg casino Luzern casino Kiel casino Flensburg casino Feuchtwangen casino Erfurt casino berlin bremer Spielbank Spiel casino Ladbrokes International Ltd Gala International casino Holland casinos Holland casinos Holland casino venlo Holland casino Utrecht Holland casino rotterdam Holland casino Nijmegen Holland casino Holland casino club Pool Hall Holland casino Eidhoven Holland casino Zandvoort Holland casino Groningen Las vegas casino voodoo Poker room The Q club The Nutz The Gold club casino The castle casino The blackthorn casino The big Slick P.m.c.

The Ace club Stix Sporting Emporium Silks casino Pocket Kings Ltd New vic card & Gaming club macau Sporting club Jools Poker Jackpot casino club J P Poker Fitzwilliam card club Eglinton casino drogheda Poker club club oasis bankcasino & card club Aces Poker club circolo citta di Treviso casino vendramin calergi casino San remo casino Noghera casino dela vallee olympic voodoo casino reval Hotel club Tobago casino du Liban maameltein olympic casino Lietuva Grand casino World Appolonia Hotel

town osnabruck Bad neuenahr-ahrweller mainz lindau/Bodensee Konstanz Dortmund mitte hamburg Garmisch-Partenkirchen Berlin Baden-Baden Bad wiessee Bad Reichenall Bad Kissingen Bad homburg Bad harzburg Bad ems Bad Bentheim Bad Zwischenahn saarbrucken Berlin nattheim Dresden westerland lubeck-travemunde nennig Bad Fussing Kiel Flensburg Feuchtwangen erfurt Berlin Bremer Bad oeynhausen amsterdam Breda Venlo utrecht Rotterdam nijmegen Valkenburg aan de Geul enschede amsterdam eindhoven Zandvoort Groningen Budapest Dublin 7 high street, market square letterkenny Castlebar Co Donegal athlone Buncrana limerick City Dublin 2 Dublin 2 Dublin 18 limerick Cork letterkenney Dublin 2 saggart Dublin 2 Galway Drogheda Dublin 2 County Cork Galway treviso Venezia san Remo (im) Venezia saint-Vincent Riga Riga Jounieh Vilnius Vilnius Gevgelija

COUNTRY Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Germany Gibraltar Gibraltar Holland Holland Holland Holland Holland Holland Holland Holland Holland Holland Holland Holland Hungary Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Italy Italy Italy Italy Italy Latvia Latvia Lebanon Lithuania Lithuania Macedonia

DISTRIBUTION POINT casino Europa mongolia Sport Poker Association movenpick Hotel and casino malabata mazagan casino casino marrakech The Fortune rooms Luckys bingo club Frontier bingo club dormans Poker room The bridge club red Gaming club Empire bingo Group East belfast Poker club olympic casino Sunrise casino royal casino Poland casino Espinho Edinburgh circus casino Wabash club The International casino Stanley berkeley casino riverboat casino Glasgow Stanley casino Gala maybury casino Gala dundee casino caplins club Alea casino casino Terroubi Slovensky Pokovry Zvaz caesar Poker club Korona casino & Hotel Hit casino Perla Grand casino Ljubljana casino Portoroz olympic carlton casino The Irish Fiddler Gran casino mallorca Gran casino de barcelona Gran casino costa meloneras centro Nordico casino marbella casino Gran madrid casino de Torrequebrada casino castillo de Perelada 5th Street club malmo PokerKlubb casino cosmopol Ab casino cosmopol casino cosmopol casino cosmopol blekinge Pokerklubb value Poker Twins Poker Swiss Pokerlounge runner runner club royal Kings Poker Passion Poker maniacs Poker Klub Poker Fever Poker Fame Poker cracks other Poker club No Smoker Poker Grand casino St.Gallen Gran casino baden casino Lugano casino Kursaal Interlaken card casino Thun card casino Thun card casino biel campione d’Italia dav Enterprises Ltd dav Enterprises Ltd royal Poker club olympic casino opera circolo club casino Favorit Aspers at Salubrious Place Les croupiers casino Grosvenor casino Grosvenor casino Gala casino

town Chisnau ulan Batar tanger el Jadida / Casablanca marrakech Bangor Ballymena Co.Down Co.londonderry Co.Down armagh magherafelt Belfast warszawa warszawa warszawa espinho edinburgh Glasgow aberdeen edinburgh Glasgow Glasgow edinburgh Dundee Dundee Glasgow Dakar Bratislava Bratislava Kranjska Gora nova Gorica ljubljana izola Bratsilava arguinan islas Baleares Barcelona san Bartolome mijas marbella torrelodones malaga Prov Girona malaga malmo sundsvall malmo Goteborg stockholm nattraby Dubendorf wohlen Dietikon Balerna Zurich Biel hombrechtikon Koniz Prattein littau Kloten Basel Frauenfeld st.Gallen Baden lugano interlaken thun thun Biel lugano mersin 10 Kordonboyu, Girne Kharkov Kyiv Kiev odessa swansea Cardiff swansea Cardiff Cardiff

COUNTRY Moldova Mongolia Morocco Morocco Morocco N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland Poland Poland Poland Portugal Scotland Scotland Scotland Scotland Scotland Scotland Scotland Scotland Scotland Scotland Sénégal Slovakia Slovakia Slovenia Slovenia Slovenia Slovenia Sovakia Spain Spain Spain Spain Spain Spain Spain Spain Spain Spain Sweden Sweden Sweden Sweden Sweden Sweden Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Turkey Turkey Ukrainia Ukrainia Ukrainia Ukrainia Wales Wales Wales Wales Wales

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FabrICe

l” SOULIer

u “Fabso

POKer In LaS veGaS

After a few weeks under the brazilian sun, I thought it was time to get back to grinding, bye bye holidays, but looking at my schedule for the autumn, it was already giving me a headache. Would I feel like playing the WPT Grand Prix de Paris at the famous Aviation club, or would I experience the thrill of the second EPIc Poker League in Las vegas?

C H R O N I C L E FA B R I C E S O U L I E R

Despite my particular love for the Aviation Club, I decided to try the new Epic Poker League, launched by Annie Duke and Jeffrey Pollack. This league will gather the best players in the world, 200 of them in total, and the $20,000 has no rake at all.

Free lodgings at Palms Hotel & Casino, as well as $400,000 added to the prize pool. At the end of the year the best 27 players can vie for a $1 million free roll as well! I couldn’t pass up the chance. And you have to play, at least once, each of the three tournaments organized at each event: a Charity even, a Pro/Am event, and the Main Event. Thus I decided to play all three events in a row!

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I arrived in Las Vegas a few days before the launch of EPL, to avoid the nine-hour jetlag that separates Sin City and France.

Many of my European friends had avoided such a tiring trip, and my only French friends there were Nicolas Levi and his girlfriend Emilie, who were in Vegas for a couple weeks already. I want to thank them especially for their huge support during my whole tournament - they even postponed their trip back to France when I reached the final table!

During the $100 rebuy Charity Event, I was seated next to Erik Seidel and we had a great time chatting about everything… everything that is, but poker! During the week I’ve been next to Erik a number of times including the Main Event final table.

Erik Seidel really deserves to be the Number 1 tournament winner: aside from his great human qualities, he is such a technical player, and he never loses his temper, or his focus. I think he really is one of the greatest players I have ever met.

I have never played such a difficult tournament… When I was at the semi-finale I tried to find some dead-money, but I just couldn’t find it… No one made any mistake, and we played some top-notch poker, where any bluff is calculated, and where every hand is precisely played and analyzed. No player was on steam and the deep structure enabled everyone to play some world-class poker during these very long hours.

At the bubble (12 players), nobody wanted to bust —there was $45,000 minimum, and it’s great money, even for a Pro. After Bari’s elimination the finale has just been endless. It took 2 or 3 hours to bust someone, and 12 hours to get a winner! I was so jetlagged that I really had a hard time remaining focused, but I succeeded in dominating my table during the first 4-5 hours, before losing an 80/20 versus Mike McDonald (allin with 10s vs his 4s). If only I had won this pot, I would have had 70% of the total chips at the table, but I lost it unfortunately, and lost another flip versus him a couple hands later. During the final table there have been a lot of grind, min-raise and min c-bet. I finally busted Nam Le on a coin flip and then Erik Seidel on a 80/20, but couple hours later, McDonald, again, busted my AT with his AQ in BB. All in all, I am really happy about this Vegas trip, as well as with my play —with the exception of a couple of hands when I played with Ace high vs nuts… It was a real marathon, but to play this kind of event only helps you to enhance your poker skill.

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